Life as a Royal Demigod in NYC
by IrishGreekGirl
Summary: Sequel to Life as a Royal Demigod. Carter has been Queen for three years but does she want to remain Queen? Will she marry Alexander for the sake of her country? Or will she go with her long-time boyfriend Max? Decisions, decisions.
1. I have to make a decission

**Hello readers! So this is the sequel to my story Life as a Royal Demigod. I recommend that you read that before this, because then this will make more sense. Anyway hopefully this lives up to your expectations! I don't own PJO!**

I walked out of the palace boardroom after a meeting with Russia, France, England, Germany, and Italy leaders to discuss foreign affairs. I walked to the rose garden to meet my mother for lunch the sound of my heels clicking against the marble floor. I've been Queen of Greece for almost three years. Oh my gods three years. In about two weeks was my official three-year anniversary as Queen and my twenty-first birthday. I've been so busy these last three years that they just go over my head. I haven't seen Max in over seven months which has been really hard on both us. I have waited for months to be able to see my friends in New York. They would all be starting their senior years in college then off to start their careers. I met up with my mother who was sitting and drinking a cup of tea.

"Hello mother." I said to her sitting down.

"Demitra how did the meeting go? Did you discuss allies? Or trade? Or..."

"It went great. All of them joined Greece's Allie network and trade network. I think I finally have solved our economic crisis."

"That's very lovely dear. You have been an amazing Queen so far. I'm very proud of what all you have done." she said. Usually my mother doesn't build up my confidence unless she had bad news. My mother still thinks she is queen at times which can be very annoying. She gets involved with my meetings and still thinks that she can tell me what to do.

"Well dear don't you think you should be considering marriage and having a male counterpart?" I knew exactly where this was going. She pushes me to marry Alexander every minute I see her.

"Mother I am only twenty I don't need to get married. Plus I think Max and I will wait to get married till he graduates medical school and gets a job." I said. I try to send her the message that I would choose Max over Alexander any day. Max and haven't talked about our future much but I hope it involves us one day living together as a married couple. We have been dating for a little over five years. I just missed out five-month anniversary due to a conference which I felt terrible about. I hope that I could rest for a couple of days in New York with my friends.

"When I was your age Demitra, I was married and you were on the way."

"Maybe because it was a different time and you got knocked up." I said to her and she gasped.

"How dare you say that Demitra!"

"It's the truth. Can I please just focus on my country and my life without marriage for a while."

"Demitra, you do realize you and Alexander are going to get married sometime in the next year."

"Not if I can help." I said to her.

"I mean it you need to start considering these things."

"In case you forgot, you're not Queen anymore so you can back off with my decisions because I'm Queen, not you."

"Demitra I am still your mother."

"Yes you are. Most mothers would tell their daughters to wait to get married and enjoy life." I said to her getting up from my chair.

"Yes but our situation is different. You and Alexander are financially ready and you had your years of fun."

"Not enough considering I was caged in this palace until I was sixteen and got to explore a little bit. Mother I'm done with this discussion. I need to make an important phone call."

"To one of your friends in New York? That can wait. And its only six in the morning there." I just walked away through our glass doors and up to my room. Everything had to be difficult with my mother. I wanted to talk to Annabeth about everything because she always had advice. Thalia was someone to talk to also but the way she dealt with issues involved methods of violence. I didn't want to talk to Max about the marriage with Alexander because it was awkward for both of us. I needed a nap to process everything. I started to drift off then had a weird dream.

_I was standing in the middle of Max and Alexander. Behind Max was the outline of New York city and my friends were all standing in the background. He was holding a bouquet of red roses and he was in scrubs to symbolize the fact he was a doctor. Then I looked over at Alexander who was dressed in a tuxedo with the Greek palace in the background. Also there were the citizens of Greece cheering with joy and Alexander holding my crown in his hands. My mother looked stood there too beaming with happiness. Then I saw myself standing next to him dressed in a ball gown with my left arm wrapped around Alexanders right arm. On my left hand was a diamond ring. A newspaper flew towards me with the headline saying "**Greece's economy back in business.**" Obviously it showed that if I married Alexander, I would fix Greece's economy, be rich, and make my mother happy. Then I looked back at Max where I was also standing next to dressed in a regular sundress and no ring on my left hand. Max was smiling down at me. My friends were all smiling and then a newspaper was lying on the ground. **"Queen gives up throne and economy crashes once again."** If I went with Max, I would be happy and near all of my friends however my economy would still be in debt. Then in unison, my reflections on both sides said "So which will you choose?"_

I sat straight up in my bed. I looked at the clock to see I was asleep for an hour. I went over to my mirror and fixed my hair then walked downstairs to see Alexander standing there smiling holding something in his hand. A ring box.

**So what did you all think? Did you like it? Let me know! If you have any ideas for this story let me know! Also check out my bffs story A Million Reasons Why. Thanks and please review :)**


	2. I make a choice that changes everything

**Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed my first chapter! I don't own PJO!**

Alexander was standing there holding the ring box.

"Hello love." he said then kissed me on the cheek.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"I would love if you joined me in the courtyard for some tea." he said smiling.

"I would love it if you left but I guess we don't always get what we want." I said to him the started to walk away then he grabbed my wrist.

"Please Carter." he said to me.

"Fine. I'll have a cup." I said then walked into the courtyard with him.

"I'm glad to have the company of such a beautiful lady." he said.

"Cut the crap. This doesn't change anything." I said to him.

"Can I ask you something very important?" he asked getting out of this seat.

"Oh shoot what time is it?" I asked him.

"Three but I need to ask you something..."

"I have to take a call." I said getting up out of my seat.

"Carter please. This is very important!" he shouted as I walked inside.

"Then it can wait! I can't keep Germany waiting!" I shouted walking up the marble staircase and to my wing. I pretended to take a call as I went up until I knew he couldn't hear me. I went into my room and shut the door. I went out onto my balcony which overlooked the sea. My room got moved after I became queen so now I look over the sea instead of the courtyard. It was so calm and even though I am a daughter of Zeus, I'm still a Greek Queen who loves the comfort of the sea. The breeze drifted towards me. It reminded me of Percy, Sadria and Kat and how much I missed them. I walked back into my room and layed on my bed. I went over to my iPhone dock in my room and put my Adele and Taylor Swift music on shuffle. I turned to them when I missed everyone. Then the song "Come back...be here" by Taylor Swift played.

_And this is when the feeling sinks in, I don't want to miss you like this, Come back... be here, come back...be here. I guess your in New York today, I don't want to need you like this way. Come back...be here, come back...be here. This is falling in love in the cruelest way, this is falling in love when you are worlds away. New York... be here. Cause its no fair that you're not around. Come back...be here, come back...be here._

Everytime I hear that song, I think of Max and how much I miss him. Then the song Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson came on. Max and my song that we danced to at my coronation ball. Tears started to form in my eyes. I went over and turned it off. I couldn't hear that without Max by my side. I sat on my bed and looked at the ceiling. I felt tears run down my cheeks. I wiped them off and walked downstairs hoping not to run into Alexander. I saw one of my advisors walk towards me. Her name was Delphine and she was the advisor I was closest to.

"Hello Queen Carter. I need to discuss something important with you." she said. I didn't really want to talk to her, because I knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Ok would you like to sit down?" I asked her, motioning to the seats that were in the hallway.

"Yes that would be lovely." she said. We sat down and she had the look that I knew she was delivering bad news.

"Get the bad news out please." I said.

"Ok. The other advisors and myself with other representatives from other countries decided that it is best that you marry Alexander." she said.

"When?" I asked her.

"On your twenty-first birthday." she said looking down at her feet.

"That's in two weeks!" I said with shock.

"I know. I'm sorry. If it helps, I and one other person voted against it." she said putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I can't just get married. I'm not my mother. I need to marry someone I love not someone who has a lot of money." I said to her

"I know that you want to be with Max, but Alexander's money could bring Greece out of its debt."

"But with the trade system with the top countries that should help. China and Japan signed a trade agreement me last week. We should be fine without his money. There has to be another way..."

"I'm sorry dear." she said then walked away. I got up and saw Agatha come towards me.

"Carter, dinner is about ready." she said.t

"Thank you Agatha." I said then walked towards the dining room. At the table sat my mother, Alexander and some of my advisors. The maids brought out our salads and rolls. It was a Greek salad which was my favorite.

"So Carter, how did the call with Germany go?" Alexander asked with a grin which made it obvious he knew I faked the call.

"Oh it went great. We discussed a lot of things." I said taking a bite out of my salad.

"Like what?" Alexander asked.

"That's classified information." I said to him.

"Oh but you can discuss it with us?" Alexander asked.

"No I don't really feel like it right now." I motioned to Agatha to help me.

"Why don't I check on the main course." Agatha said then her and the others walked out with plates of pasta. Everyone had a form of seafood pasta but I had a vegetable one. I sat there and ate without talking. We all finished eating and Alexander motioned for me to come to him. I walked over and he looked at me.

"Waiting time is over. Which means I am going to ask what I was going to ask you earlier. You know before you had to call Germany." he said and I blushed. We both walked out into the courtyard. The long rectangular fountain water looked beautiful in the moonlight. The whole courtyard did actually. He took me over to the side of the fountain.

"Carter I love you and I have been trying to ask you this for a while. Will you marry me?" he asked getting down on one knee and holding out a ring box. The ring was stunning, just not coming from the right person.

"Alexander you know I love Max..."

"Yes but do what is right for your country Carter. We can live wherever you like and I will try to make you happy. You will see that I'm not a bad guy and maybe you will fall in love with me all over again."

"That was a mistake the first time. I love Max not you." I said.

"Please Carter." I thought about my dream. I was Queen which meant that my country came first not my feelings. If I married Alexander, then my country would be out of debt. I love Max more than anything in the world. I was pretty much a gold digger. What I was about to do shocked myself.

"I will marry you but it's for my country, not because I love you." I said to him.

"You won't regret it." he said then kissed me on the lips.

"But I'm going to New York first."

**So what did you all think? Good? Let me know! Please review :)**


	3. Advice from both sides

**Hey everyone! So the beginning is kind of a love triangle but I like the idea of having one! I hope all of you have enjoyed the first couple of chapters of this story! Thanks for reading:) I don't own PJO!**

It was about four in the afternoon when I flew over New York City. It has been forever since I've been here so it was nice to look over at all the buildings. After my plane landed I grabbed my bags and got in a taxi. Driving through Manhattan made me realize just how much I missed it. The taxi pulled up to Annabeth's apartment building and I paid the driver and walked in. It was a nice building that had a marble lobby area. I went up to the fourth floor where her apartment was. She had no idea I was there but I thought it might be fun to surprise her. I knocked on the door and heard a girl yell.

"Should I scare them away?!" the girl screamed.

"Thalia! Just answer it and if it's a salesperson then you have my permission to scare them away." Annabeth said back to her. I heard Thalia walk up to the door. Then she opened it.

"Hi I'm Judy and I'm selling magazines to pay for college. Can I interest you in a subscription?" I said to Thalia and she just laughed.

"Carter!" she shouted and gave me a hug.

"Hey Thals!" I said back to her. I walked into the apartment. All the girls were sitting around Annabeth's living room.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?" Thalia asked.

"I have some news to share with all of you but it can wait for now." I said.

"Carter!" Annabeth came from her kitchen and gave me a hug.

"Hey! I didn't mean to intrude on anything." I said.

"You didn't its girls night." Sadria said and came up and gave me a hug. I sat down in a chair and said hello to Clarisse and Kat.

"So why are you here? Does Max know?" Annabeth asked.

"I needed to talk to all of you about something. I would rather discuss it later though. Max doesn't know I'm here." I said to them.

"Oh sweet you're going to surprise him! Percy did that to me once when I was in Berkley. Oh Piper and Hazel are coming here soon. They got in earlier but wanted to tour around for a little bit." Annabeth said.

"Cool I haven't seen them in like two years." I said.

"Life as a Queen can be pretty demanding I'm sure." Thalia said.

"You have no idea. It's been seven months since I last saw all of you and Max. I wish I had more free time." I said to them. Then someone knocked at the door and Annabeth opened it to reveal Piper and Hazel standing there.

"Hey!" they both said then walked in. I got caught up on everything in everyone's lives. From college to relationships. Annabeth was doing amazing at Berkley, as expected and she and Percy were still madly in love, which I knew wouldn't change. Thalia was doing well at Miami and she and Nico were still going strong. Kat was doing a decent job at FIT but she says she will be a trophy wife so she doesn't need to get a job. She and Spencer were inseparable. Sadria was a very successful intern for Christian Louboutin and was succeeding at her fashion school. Clarisse and Chris were doing well in Arizona. Piper was at UCLA with Jason and doing well there. Hazel graduated high school and was going to go to LSU. I told them all about my life as Queen. Then I prepared myself to tell them about my wedding.

"So I have news that I don't know how you all will take it." I said.

"Please tell me you aren't pregnant." Annabeth said. "Because then it wouldn't be Max's it would be like Alexanders. Oh my gods please no. I hate that guy." All of the girls nodded in agreement. Shit this was not going to be as easy as I thought.

"No I'm not pregnant. But I'm getting married next weekend to Alexander." I said.

"WHAT!" they all shouted in unison.

"I have a legit reason for it though." I said.

"What about Max?" Clarisse asked.

"I still love him very much. I don't really want to marry Alexander but I have to. My country is in major debt and we need the money. If I married him, debt issues would almost be completely solved." I said to them.

"So how are you going to tell Max?" Thalia asked.

"I have no idea. I was thinking I would get advice from the guys on what would be the best way to break news to one of them on me getting married. "I said.

"They would be able to tell you but come on their guys." Annabeth said.

"Whatever I'll ask them anyway. On the plus side, you all are invited if you don't want to beat the shit out of me for making this decision." I said.

"We love you even if you are making a dumbass decision." Thalia said.

"We will go. When is it?" Annabeth asked.

"August 18th, my birthday. I know its Percy's birthday too and if you don't want to miss that..."

"I'll still go." they all agreed they would come and gave them information. Annabeth gave me Percy's address and texted Percy to see if Max was there and he said no. That Max had to finish his shift at work. I got another taxi and went over to Percy's apartment. I knocked on the door and he answered.

"Carter?" he asked.

"Hi um sorry to ruin guys night but I need to talk to all of you." I said to him.

"Ok...sure." he motioned for me to come in and all the guys except Max were sitting in Percy's living room.

"So um I have some bad news." I said.

"Please tell me your not pregnant because as your half-brother, I need to protect you." Spencer said and Jason nodded in agreement.

"Why does everyone think I'm pregnant! I haven't gained weight! No it has to do with Max and I." I said to them.

"You're not breaking up wit him, are you?" Percy asked.

"Well..."

"Because he really loves you and cares about you. He misses you like crazy." Percy said.

"I love him more than anything but it's not fair to him that I um have to put him in this position." I said.

"What position?" Percy asked.

"I'm getting married." all the guys jaws dropped.

"Carter have you lost your mind?" Percy said.

"No! I have a duty to my country. That means that my country comes before my heart. Greece is in major debt and I need money. Alexander has money and um yeah I'm marrying him on my birthday." I said.

"Max is going to flip the fuck out. You know how fragile his feelings are and you know he won't let you go." Percy said.

"You haven't told him?" Nico asked.

"No I haven't. I came over here to get advice on how to break the news to him." I said.

"Let him down easy well as easy as you can." Percy said.

"Also tell him why you made the decision you did." Spencer said.

"If he starts crying and like turning into an emotional wreck, don't make things worse." Nico said. Was he speaking from experience?

"And if all else fails, abandon ship!" Leo shouted.

"Thanks for the advice. I want all of you to know that I wasn't stringing him along, I really love him." I said to them.

"It's fine. I'm guessing you don't want us at the wedding?" Percy asked.

"All of remind me of him and that would be too hard. I love you guys." I said and they all came over and did a group hug with me in the middle.

"I have to do the hardest thing in my life, break up with the guy I love."

**Thoughts? I hope you liked my advice from both genders. Please review :) Love all of you :)**


	4. I break the news to Max

**Hey readers! So this is my chapter. Not much to say. I don't own PJO.**

I got to Max's apartment building and walked through the lobby to the elevators. My heart was racing, beating at least million times per second. I walked down the hall to his door. I was not ready to do this. I knocked on the door.

"One second!" Max shouted. My palms started to get sweaty and I could feel the warmth in my face. I heard footsteps get closer to the door and it clicked. Max opened it up and smiled.

"Carter!" he gave me a huge hug and kissed me. This was going to be extremely difficult.

"Hi." I said nervously.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in like seven months." he said as we walked into his apartment. He didn't really have any lights on just the lights from the city shining in his living room. He went over and flipped the switch to his kitchen.

"Well um I need to talk to you about something. But I would rather discuss it later." I said.

"Ok. Would you like something to drink or eat?" he asked.

"I'll just have a glass of water." I said then he walked over and handed me the glass. The coolness of the glass helped to with my warm palms. He sat across from me on the couch.

"I've missed you so much! I have been so caught up in medical school that I haven't had a chance to visit you. So how have you been?" he asked.

"Yeah I've missed you so much too. I have been busy with everything. Negotiating trade agreements, alliances, finances, you know the usual." I said.

"So I've been looking at some things for my residency and I thought maybe I could do my residency in Athens that way I could be with you."

"That's so sweet, but then you would be so far away from everyone else, like your family and our friends." I said.

"I know but I really want to be with you. I mean I don't expect you to leave Greece anytime soon and if we want this relationship to go to the next level, I should be closer to you." Why did he have to be so sweet? He was making this so hard because I would love it if he moved to Greece, that is if I wasn't getting married in a week.

"That's really flattering but I mean I'm so busy with everything. Meetings from eight in the morning to nine at night or later. Then I have special events and you would have to work late and we wouldn't be able to see each other much throughout the day."

"I could make it work. It seems like you really don't want me to be closer to you."

"No it's not that. It's just I know how important your family is to you and moving to Greece to be with me, well your mother wouldn't like that and you're going to be eleven hours away by plane. It's expensive to fly back and forth between Greece and the U.S. I mean just really think about this." I said.

"Oh I've thought about it countless times. I really love you Carter and I want to be with you. I would do anything to be with you more." he said. Then he looked down at my left hand and noticed my engagement ring.

"Why are you wearing what I think is an engagement ring?" he asked with a disappointed look on his face.

"Because I'm engaged." I said to him and his look stated to fade into a frown.

"But I thought you broke it off. At your seventeenth birthday ball?"

"I did but Alexander proposed to me a couple of days ago and I excepted."

"WHAT! Why would you do that? I love you Carter and I thought you loved me too."

"I do love you. I love you more than anything in the world..."

"Then why are you engaged to a douchebag? Engagement means that one day the two of you are going to get married. So when are you? Two months? Sixth months? A year? When?"

"Can I please explain?"

"Yes you can. I want to hear this."

"Ok. As you know my country is in major debt. I have figured out some of our money issues but it's not enough. I have a right to my country and that means that they come first decisions. Alexander has a lot of money and if I married him, our debt would be almost permanently fixed. I don't love him. I'm only marrying him for his money. I love you a lot and I would marry you and be with you if I wasn't Queen of Greece. I have to this Max and I really don't want to..."

"So when is the wedding?" he asked. Tears ran down my face and I could tell that he was trying not to cry.

"It's on my birthday. In a week." I said.

"A week. So I only have a week left with you?"

"Actually you only have tonight. I fly back to Greece tomorrow morning." I said. I looked down at my hands and the engagement ring. I really didn't like how this was going. Tears still formed in my eyes.

"Then we can make it last." he said.

"I'm really sorry. I just I..."

"It's ok. I understand why you're doing it but I just don't want to lose you." he said and pulled me in closer to him.

I wasn't stringing you along. I can promise you that. I really love you." I said.

"I know. I'm invited to the wedding though, right?" he asked.

"Max you know that would be hard on you and me." I said.

"So this is the last time I'm going to see you?" he asked.

"For now, I mean I'll still be in touch with everyone." I said.

"Ok but I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to move on."

"But you have...Emma..."

"She isn't you and I couldn't get back together with her."

"Well you will find somebody else..."

"No one like you. I don't want our last night together to be depressing."

"I agree." We walked into his bedroom and laid on his bed. I rested my head on his chest and he grabbed my waist. We laid there for a while talking about school and everything else. I tried not to bring up the wedding. I talked to him about all the different things I have done and my plans as Queen and what I want to accomplish. I really don't know how I will be able to leave. I loved Max and for a while I forgot I was engaged. We talked like nothing was wrong. Max got up and played our song, A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson and we danced in the moonlight. It was really nice with the light streaming through the window. The way he looked at me, I could tell he loved me and made me fall more in love with him which is the opposite of what I wanted to happen. We fell on the bed laughing and then the song Daylight by Maroon five came on the radio. It described the situation perfectly.

_And when the daylight comes i'll have to go, but tonight i'm going to hold you so close, cause in the daylight we will be on our own, but tonight I need to hold you so close..._

I listened to the song and tears started to reform in my eyes.

"Hey its ok..." Max said then wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"No it's not! I want to be with you but..." he just kissed me. That's how we stayed for most of the night.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with ax next to me. He was still asleep so I got ready then started to walk towards the door. I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye. I went over to Max who was fast asleep on the bed.

"Max...Max..." I shook his arm and he popped up.

"What? Oh um right. Let me get ready and I'll take you to the airport." he said.

"No I can get a taxi and its fine."

"I want to take you." he said then threw on a shirt and jeans. We walked out to where his truck was parked. I put my bag in the back and sat next to him in the middle seat. We drove to the airport and I walked around.

"My plane leaves in an hour. I should probably go to the gate." I said.

"I can't let you go." he said then grabbed my hands.

"I don't want to go but I have to." I said to him then once again tears ran down my face. I couldn't go through that gate.

"No matter what I love you. Obviously the next time I will see you, you'll be married but I'll see you again." he said.

"Absolutely. Oh I almost forgot..." I grabbed my promise ring and the locket he gave me and put in his hands.

"Why are you giving these back to me?" he asked.

"Well I mean I'm not your girlfriend anymore so I thought you would want them back." I said to him. Then he smiled and held up the locket and brushed my hair to the side and put the locket back on then reached for my hand and put the promise ring on my finger.

"I want you to keep them. It's your choice to wear them but they were meant for you." he said then I hugged him.

"Thanks." said then he looked down.

"So um how should I say goodbye to you then? A handshake? Hug? What?" he asked. I gave him a hug.

"Even if we aren't dating, I can still give you a hug." I said.

"Ok well I'll miss you and um wish you the best of luck with your marriage." he said.

"Thanks. I'll miss you too. I'll hopefully see you and everyone else soon." I said then I grabbed my bag and walked towards security. I looked back and he waved to me. I shouldn't have looked back, that was a mistake. I dropped my bag and ran towards him, in heels I might add, then wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss.

"What the heck. This isn't how breakups work I mean um well I don't mind it at all." he said.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you too." he said. Then for real this time I walked to my gate. I got on the plane and flew away from my second home and everyone I love, especially Max. Now back to reality, my wedding in a week.

**So what did you all think? I'll post tomorrow! Thanks everyone! Love you all and please review :) Also check out my bff's story A Million Reasons Why! Thanks :)**


	5. Plans for the wedding

**Hey my lovely readers! So I'm writing this at like 4am because I'm crazy and I owe all of you a chapter. Hopefully you like it! Thanks and I don't own PJO!**

I sat at a desk working on my finishing touches for a meeting with the Italian ambassadors. I walked into the room that leads out into the courtyard. I had to plan part of my wedding still which happens to be three days away. There was a different person for each department: guests, food, entertainment, fashion, floral etc. Each person or people from the different places were coming to discuss final touches. Alexander walked into the room to help plan, sadly, our wedding.

"Hello love." he said then kissed my cheek.

"Really? Did you have to do that?" I asked.

"Sorry just thought I would try to act like I don't know, your fiancée."

"Please don't make this awkward for you and me." I said looking down at the papers.

"Darling you and I are getting married in three days, don't you think that we should act like a married couple? Or at least a couple?" he asked.

"Hmm no. I don't really want to marry you, but it helps my country. Can we just finish the planning?"

"Yes." he said then the woman in charge of our guest list walked in.

"Hello you two. I have the guest list ready and if there are any adjustments that need to be made, let me know." she said. We glanced over it and I found that my friends hadn't been added.

"Yeah I need to add seven names." I said to her.

"Oh my apologies, and they are what?"

"Who?" Alexander asked in confusion.

"My best friends." I said to him.

"The girls?"

"Yes. Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Sadria Jackson, Kat Jackson, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, and Clarisse La Rue." I said. Yes I invited Clarisse even if she was Max's sister, she was a close friend of mine.

"I will add those right away." she said.

"Thank you." then my chef came in.

"Hello Carter."

"Hey so what are you thinking for food?" I asked.

"Well obviously a vegetarian pasta for you, mainly Greek food but I'll add some traditional British food as well." he said looking at Alexander with a grimace.

"Thank you." Then the people planning entertainment came in. Obviously we would have a ball after the wedding because that was traditional and everyone minus my friends were of royal heritage or of high power in government and that is what was expected. I'm meeting the woman in charge of my dress ,later which was the only exciting part of this whole wedding was choosing my dream dress. Finally the floral person came in.

"Hello your majesties. Have you thought about the flowers you would like to have?" she asked.

"I like Irises and orchids even poppies would be pretty." I said.

"Really I was thinking roses, maybe red?" Alexander asked me and I gave him a look. Max always gave me red roses so I was not going to have roses of any color at our wedding.

"No roses. I think roses are common. We could have blue and purple irises and maybe white and yellow orchids."

"Fine." he said. The lady nodded and left.

"I'll let you get back to your work but I am going to play a match of tennis with your mother." he said.

"Have fun." he kissed me on the lips this time just as my friends walked in.

"I can't get used to this." Thalia said.

"Hey everyone!" I went up to all the girls and gave them hugs.

"Ready to enjoy the next two days of freedom?" Annabeth asked.

"You know I am." I said to them. Having my girls here definitely made things with this wedding more bearable. I'll enjoy my next two days of freedom.

* * *

Max's POV

Ever since Carter and I broke up, its been really hard. I loved Carter, well I still do and being without her, it hurts. When Emma and I broke up, it hurt, but not nearly as much as this did. There was no way we could get back together since she was getting married. My own sister left me to attend the wedding. When she kissed me in the airport, it made me never want to leave her side. She was the girl I was and am in love with. The guys were going to help me through the next couple of days since we don't start up school again for a little over two weeks and their girlfriends aren't here. I drove over to Percy's apartment. When I walked in, all the guys were sitting around with cans of coke, red bull and mountain scattered across the floor.

"Hey dude, how you feeling?" Percy asked.

"Like shit but whats new." I said to him.

"Sorry man." he said.

"Anyway what are all of you doing?" I asked.

"Watching tv and drinking pop. Our ADHD is going to be so bad!"

"Yeah well only you and Chris are the only ones who can buy alcohol so no point in that." he said.

"I'll take you out for drinks on your birthday." I said.

"Damn I'm going to be twenty-one. I'm surprised by you." he said as we walked over to the guys.

"Why?" I asked.

"You haven't gone after her." Percy said.

"Carter? I want to but I don't see the point." I said taking a sip of my coke.

"Point is you still love her and she loves you. She is making the worst decision of her life and only you can convince her to change her mind." Percy said.

"I'm not the only one."

"She wouldn't listen to Annabeth, Thalia or any of the other girls. Her best friends. She came to us for advice on how to break up with you and she burst into tears." Connor said.

"Really? Well she cried a lot when she did break up with me. I want her back but I can't get there on such short notice and in time for the wedding." I said.

"We can leave tomorrow morning and make it in time for you to talk to her before she gets married, that is if she gets married." Percy said.

"so I should go after her?"

"YES!" they all yelled.

"Ok I guess I'm going to Greece tomorrow." I said.

"Not without us you aren't." Percy said.

"Better start packing."

**What did you all think? Please review and let me know! Also for anyone with a guest account, thanks for reviewing! I can't respond to any of them so I recommend you get a real account but that's just me. Love all of you and thanks :)**


	6. Greece, here we come

**Hey my readers! Hopefully you like the story so far! Let me know if you have any ideas for this story. I have basic ideas for this story but if you have any let me know! I don't own PJO! **

Max's pov

The next morning after we all agreed to fly to Greece, we arrived at the airport.

"Ok let's get the next flight to Greece. Hopefully its in the next couple of hours." Percy said. The eight of us walked up to the international flight ticket counter.

"We need eight tickets for the next flight to Athens, Greece." I said.

"Ok that will be tomorrow at eight in the morning." she said.

"No we need to get there tonight." I said gripping the counter.

"Maybe you should have booked your flights a couple of months ago and then this wouldn't be a problem." she said.

"Aren't you suppose to help people and be kind?" I asked.

"I hate this job. I got fired from my last one so I went to this one." she said.

"I wonder why." Percy said.

"Please the girl I love is getting married tomorrow and I need to change her mind." I said to her.

"That's sweet. Won't change anything though." she said. I had an urge to slap this woman. I wouldn't hit a woman since it goes against everything I believe in but this woman was a bitch.

"Can't we like get on standby or something?" I asked.

"Well there are two seats that are empty as of right now but then you would need six seats on standby so unless you find six people to give up their seats, all of you aren't going." she said with a grin.

"Fine we will take the two seats and then put six of us on standby." I said.

"Ok." she said then printed out two tickets. "Have a nice flight." she handed me the two tickets.

"Thanks." we all walked over to some chairs and sat down.

"I only have two tickets. Who is coming with me?" I asked them.

"Percy should go." Spencer said.

"Yeah we can stay here." Nico said.

"Guys I don't need to go." Percy said.

"Your going!" they all shouted in unison.

"Fine." Percy said.

"Then we should get going because our flight leaves in an hour and the lines for security are extremely long." I said.

"Ok um so guess we will see you guys later?" Percy said.

"Yeah we will find a way to get to Greece. Just make sure my sister doesn't make the worst decision of her life." Spencer said.

"I'll second that. Even if she is our half-sister." Jason said.

"I'll try." I said. Percy and I walked to the gates and went through security.

"Damn dude we have twenty minutes until the flight leaves!" Percy said. We both ran through the airport which was crowded with people. Finally we spotted the gate.

We walked up and checked in. After the woman checked our passports and boarding passes we got on the plane. There were a lot of interesting people on the plane going to Greece. And shockingly a lot of people. Percy and I got two seats next to each other. I took the window sea since Percy was already freaking out.

"Don't worry. We can make it in time for you to convince Carter she is making a mistake." Percy said.

"If I can convince her."

"You can try. Dude she really cares about you. I would do the same thing if Annabeth was getting married. I don't think Annabeth would marry another guy but that's not the point. The point is you need to stop her because if Annabeth and Thalia can't get through to her, you are the last hope. No pressure." Percy said.

"Thanks. I'm just going to rest." I said then looked out the window.

Percy was asleep next to me. I don't know what I would do without Carter. I know it sounds really cheesy but she has told me multiple times that I am so I don't really care. She means the world to me and knowing that this could be the last time I will see her before or if she gets married, it hurts. If you would have asked me right after the titan war when I was around seventeen, I would have said the same thing about Emma. I thought she was the one. When I was with Percy that day in New York when we first met Carter, I was trying to get over Emma. Percy has always been there for me. Nico has two maybe not so much in the romance department but as a friend, he has been amazing. Point is, if Percy and I had not been at the café that day, I wouldn't have met Carter and she probably would have died. I love her but honestly she can't really fight monsters. When we saved her I knew from that minute that I liked her. Obviously I could tell she liked Percy which pissed me off but getting to know her made me fall in love with her. I feel the same way I felt when we started dating, I fall in love with her all over again each day. Sound cliché? Probably but you know what, I am the king of clichés. I just hope I can change her mind. I'm not going to let her marry some asshole and ruin her life. She deserves better than that. I knew that there would be challenges with dating a princess well now queen. The challenges of our relationship just make it that much more interesting. Carter is a once in a lifetime girl. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of me keeping her as my girlfriend. Even if it means embarrassing myself in front of the strongest political powers in the world. I'll do just about anything.

**Ok so this was originally not going to be a chapter on its own but whatever. I would have updated last night if not for the snow falling to cause our cable to go out. No internet and no T.V. Anyway thanks everyone and happy Superbowl Sunday, that is if your American. Thanks everyone :)**


	7. Last night of Freedom

**Hey everyone! So last chapter was shortish so hopefully this one you will like! Thanks :)**

Max's pov

We got to Greece finally. In Greece, it was about one in the morning. As we took a taxi to the palace, the taxi driver laughed in our faces when we tried to explain that we were friends of the Queen's. We had one problem, how would we get into the palace at one in the morning? We paid the driver and got out, facing the gate to the palace. We spotted a guard roaming the grounds, then a taxi-van pulled up.

"Someone else trying to convince Carter not to marry Alexander?" Percy asked jokingly. Then six guys got out.

"Damn that's one nice palace." Leo said.

"How the hell did you guys get here?" I asked them.

"We took a plane to Rome, then flew to Greece. Pretty sweet, right?" Leo said.

"That's great. We need to figure out how to get inside the gate then how to get into the palace." I said. Just then a guard walked over.

"The Queen does not need to see any of you. You may leave." he said.

"Were her friends." I said.

"That's what they all say. Now move along." he said.

"I'm serious. I can prove it to you." I said.

"Sure you could. Your wasting my time now move on." he said. I pulled out my phone and pulled up a picture of Carter and I.

"Is that good enough?" I asked.

"Probably photoshopped." he said.

"It's real! Come on I need to talk to her right now. We are friends with Annabeth and Thalia and my sister is here!" I said.

"Fine. I'll let you through the gate but one of them needs to identify you." the guard said. We followed inside the gate and to one of the entrances. He walked up to the two guards who stood at the door.

"These guys think they know the Queen." he said.

"Wait a second. I recognize you guys. Well I recognize five of you." the other guard said.

"You do?" the other said.

"Yeah that one is the Queen's ex-boyfriend." he said. That hurt.

"Ok you can come in but please be quiet. The Queen needs her sleep. If any of you try to hurt her or anyone else besides Alexander, I will kick your ass." he said.

"You don't like Alexander?" Percy asked.

"We all hate him. He is stuck up and he makes the Queen unhappy." the one said.

"Oh well I'm trying to convince Carter not to marry Alexander." I said.

"Good luck." they all said then opened the door. We walked down the hallway and into the room that lead up to Carter's wing. We saw someone come down the stairs. It was Annabeth and Thalia.

"How did I know you all would show up?" Annabeth said.

"Is Carter awake?" I asked.

"Maybe? She went to bed thirty minutes ago that is if she is asleep. The rest of the girls are awake though." Annabeth said.

"Let me guess. You're going to try to win Carter over?" Thalia asked.

"Yep. She can't marry Alexander. Oh gods please tell me they don't share a bed." I said.

"Nope he sleeps in a separate room as of today, tomorrow is another story." Thalia said.

"Time is ticking by. I'm going to try to win her over." I said then walked up the stairs.

* * *

Carter's POV

I sat on my bed looking out my window and at the water. I couldn't believe that in seventeen hours, I'm going to marry Alexander. The last couple of days have been fun. The girls comforted me and made these last days enjoyable. I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said. Then who walks in? Max. I knew exactly where this was going.

"Hey." he said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

"Hopefully changing your mind about the wedding." he said. It was hard to resist him but I tried to keep my cool. He shut the door and walked over.

"Max I've made up my mind and you or anyone else can't change my mind." I said.

"Carter, I will try and try and try to show you that you are making a terrible decision." he said.

"Max..."

"Please hear me out." he said.

"Fine but I'm not changing my mind." I said.

"I've told you this a million times but I love you more than anything in the world. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't be here right now. Also our friends love you too. They flew out here to be with you. If you marry Alexander, who knows if you will ever have time to see us."

"I could still see all of you. Max please don't make this harder on both of us." I said.

"I don't want to lose you. You're the most amazing, beautiful, kindest girl and second most intelligent behind Annabeth that I have ever met. There isn't a minute that goes by that I don't think about us. I know I'm not rich or have a cool accent but I love you and I will do everything I can to make you happy." he said.

"Max your really sweet but I have a right to this country. I owe it to them to get the economy running. I want to make a difference as Queen." I said.

"Carter is it better to have a country with a great economy and feuding rulers then to have a so-so economy and a happy ruler?" he asked.

"Max it's not that easy. I have the poorest country in Europe. I don't want to be bailed out by other nations, I want to be able to have our nation be prosperous on its own. If marrying Alexander gets the country out of debt, then I will take that chance. I know that I'm being a gold digger but that is what happens in politics. In politics its survival of the fittest. You know I love you and the last almost five years have been amazing but its time both of us move on." I said.

"Sorry but I'm standing my ground."

"Actually I own the ground you stand on." I said and he laughed.

"You know what I meant. Please Carter."

"Max I...I just can't. You shouldn't have come here." I said.

"I was stupid to think I could change your mind. I'm still going to the wedding though." he said.

"Fine I suppose you could come." I said to him.

"Ok well I guess I should get to my room."

"Stay."

"You want me to stay?"

"Yes. I might as well enjoy my last night of freedom with someone who I care about."

"Ok. But I don't want to argue, I care about you and I don't want to argue anymore I just..." I interrupted him with a kiss.

"Don't talk." I said to him. We made out and fell into my bed.

**I won't explain the last part but you can use your imaginations. That idea came from my bff I-am-too-outrageous-4u. Hopefully you enjoyed it! Thanks everyone and please review :)**


	8. I get a suprise

**Hello everyone! So hopefully this story reaches your expectations! I love all of you and if you have ideas let me know and if I use them I will credit you! Also this chapter is going to be really long. Thanks and I don't own PJO, I wish I did like most of the fandom!**

"Your highness, the Chef has prepared...oh my gosh what is going on!" I heard then both Max and I sat straight up to find one of my maids with a confused look on her face carrying in my breakfast.

"It's not what it looks like. Well actually it is." I said to her.

"I won't mention this um fling to Alexander." she said then slowly walked over to me with the tray.

"Thanks." I said.

"Uh-huh." she said then quietly walked out.

"Sorry if I made you feel embarrassed." Max said.

"I told you to stay. It was my fault not yours. It's just not proper to be found sleeping with someone else the morning of your wedding. Oh my gods I'm getting married!" I said to him.

"Sadly yes. I'll just go to my room since I know you are going to be really busy today and I just want to say, that was the best night of my life. Glad to know we ended on a good note." he said.

"I'm glad too. Max wait..." he turned his head to face me.

"What?"

"I'm really grateful that I had you. I hope you find someone just as amazing as you." I said to him. Then he kissed me.

"Take that as a good luck today kiss. No girl compares to you but I'll find someone. Good luck today Carter and with your marriage." he said then walked out. I couldn't believe today was the day. Most girls wake up on their wedding day and are really happy and excited. I feel terrible inside. Today is the worst day of my life.

* * *

Sadria's POV

I walked out of Connor and my bedroom over to Percy and Annabeth's room. They had their door open and were sitting on the bed talking.

"Happy Birthday!" I said to Percy then walked over and gave him a hug.

"Thanks. I think Kat forgot but I didn't expect she would remember." Percy said then Kat walked in.

"Happy Birthday Percy!" she said then gave him a hug.

"You remembered?" he asked.

"Spencer reminded me. Oh and its Carter's birthday too." she said.

"And she is getting married today." I said.

"Max is probably crying right now so I should comfort him." Percy said.

"I heard the maids talking this morning and they said that Max spent the night in Carter's room last night. I wonder how that will go down with Alexander and Callista." I said.

"We should go over and talk to Carter." Annabeth said.

"We should. I'll get the other girls." I said then walked to each room telling the girls to meet at Carter's room. As we all walked to her room the guys went to Max's. Then Penelope, Alexander's annoying sister came up.

"Where do you think your going?" she asked us all.

"To talk to Carter. "Annabeth said about to open the door.

"I don't think so." she said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"All of you will just convince her that she is making a mistake and we don't need that now do we? As her maid of honor I should speak with her." she said.

"She made you her maid of honor? I don't know why, she doesn't even like you." Thalia said.

"Well I am going to be her sister-in-law. Plus she wanted someone with class." Penelope said. Thalia looked like she was going to kill Penelope.

"I'm sorry that you have a stick shoved up your ass but in case you didn't know, I'm her half-sister so that trumps sister-in-law any day." Thalia said.

"My point is that its sweet all of you actually thought that your kind could be with our kind."

"Sorry but your species is the species of bitches in which Carter does not fall under. You and your brother do however." Thalia said and we laughed.

"Mixing with social classes only happens in movies. I have to get ready so move out of my way." Penelope said. We were all pissed at her. Annabeth and Thalia were about to wring her neck. Hazel and Kat don't really fight back they are sweet. I rarely fight back but Annabeth, Thalia, Piper and especially Clarisse would kill her in a heartbeat. Alexander walked towards our way.

"Hello ladies." he said and we all gave him a dirty look.

"Move along." Thalia said.

"Look I find it somewhat important that I get along with all of you since I'm marrying your best friend." he said.

"We don't support your relationship with Carter. We support Carter and Max. He actually cares about her unlike you." Annabeth said.

"Has it ever occurred to any of you that I might actually love her?" Alexander said.

"You cheated on her when you dated her. That really shows you love her." I said.

"Yes I cheated on her five years ago. I won't bad mouth my future wife but she hasn't been the angel all of you think she is. I do love her and care about her. I've changed my ways. I am going to make her happy. So if you didn't support this wedding why did you come?" he asked.

"We're here to support Carter through this and we tried to change her mind. She still is in love with Max." Thalia said.

"Right yeah I heard about her little fling last night. Glad she got it out of her system because in four hours, she will be my wife." Alexnader said then walked away.

"What an asshole." Thalia said.

"Yep." we all said in unison. We wish Carter the best, hopefully she makes the right decision.

* * *

Carter's POV

After I took a bath a sat on my bed waiting for my long curly hair to dry. Penelope, who I had to make my maid of honor, came into my room.

"Carter, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Terrible since this day sucks but why do you care?" I asked her.

"We're going to be sisters-in-law so I figure we should be nice to each other." she said.

"Penelope, we have always hated each other. You tried to blame me for everything that went wrong."

"Carter that's when we were kids."

"That was last week."

"You are going to be apart of my family and I want to welcome you. You finally get to have a sibling!" she said.

"Actually I have three siblings. Well more but the three that are living right now." I said.

"You mean that goth chick?" she asked.

"Yes, her name is Thalia and I have two half-brothers, Spencer and Jason." I said.

"Oh. So have you dated any of the other guys in your friend group?" Penelope asked. I knew she was trying to find out more to use against me.

"No. Percy loves Annabeth and Annabeth is my best friend so I would never steal her boyfriend. Nico is like a brother to me and he is also dating Thalia. Spencer is my brother ew, Chris is a guy friend who I talk to, Connor is just no, Leo is more of a guy friend that I can talk to, Frank is also really into Hazel and I don't know him that well, and Jason is my brother so ew again. The only guy I dated was Max." I said to her.

"Interesting. Aren't you going to take that off?" she asked pointing to my promise ring that Max gave me.

"No I love this ring and I still love Max. It's not coming off until I get married." I said.

"Carter it wouldn't have worked out anyway. He is from a different class then you. We don't mix with them." Penelope said.

"Max was the best boyfriend I have ever had in my life. I would give up being royal any day to be with him. He loves me for me and treats me with respect. If you loved someone and then later found out that he wasn't rich, wouldn't you stay with him because you loved him?" I asked her.

"No. It goes against everything I believe in. Carter your making the right choice by marrying my brother. I should go get my hair and make-up done. They should be up any minute to do your hair and make-up." Penelope said then left.

I have no idea what I've gotten myself into. My hairstylist came in and out my curly hair into a bun on my head and then the person in charge of my make-up put on my mascara and eyeshadow which complemented my electric blue eyes. Then she put my signature red lipstick on. I have to admit, I look pretty damn good, even if I am marrying a douche wait then why do I want to look good? Anyway there has been one problem all day, I have been having a terrible stomach ache. I usually don't get sick but my stomach had sharp pains poking me. It doesn't feel like when I'm nervous it feels just like I want to throw-up. I walked into my bathroom and opened my cabinet and grabbed a box, not just any box, but the box that could change my life forever. The box contained a pregnancy test. I have only once have I used one but the relief from that was a weight off my shoulders. After I took the test, I paced around my room for the longest five minutes of my life. I walked over and read it, a big fat positive sign. Just to make sure I took two more, both were positive as well.

"Oh shit." I said to myself out loud. What am I going to do? I am getting married to a guy who is not the father of my child. I don't know what to do. Should I tell someone? I should tell Max soon because its his child but no I can't. I am getting married to Alexander. I should tell Annabeth or Thalia because they can help me through this. But they are both busy getting ready. I am officially the most irresponsible Queen in the world. I can't sell myself short. Ok think Carter think what should I do? Then a knock on my door. I threw the pregnancy tests into the trashcan and answered it. It was the maids to help me into my dress.

"Carter are you ok? You look a little on edge?" one of them asked.

"Yeah maybe its the corset." I said.

"Is it too tight?" they asked. Well with my stomach aches yes it was but no body needed to know I'm pregnant.

"Nope that's just right." I said then they finished lacing up my dress.

"You look gorgeous." they said.

"Thank you." I said. I twirled around in my dress. I really loved it. It was a strapless, gold-embroidered dress that flowed on the ground. I would love this dress more if it was the dress I was wearing to Max and my wedding. I heard yet another knock. I grabbed my dress, as not to trip on it, and got the door. Spencer and Jason stood there.

"Wow sis you look beautiful." Spencer said. I gave him a hug.

"You really do." Jason said.

"Thank you both. Do you want to come in?" I asked them and they walked into my bedroom.

"So you're doing this." Spencer said looking at my dress.

"yep." I said then a sharp pain shot through my body again. I tried to hide my morning sickness.

"Carter are you ok?" Jason asked both of them were dressed in tuxedos. They looked really handsome.

"Um yeah I am." I said.

"I've known you for five years and I can totally tell your lying." Spencer said.

"Maybe I am but I don't really know if I should talk about it." I said.

"Carter come on we're your brothers." Jason said.

"Ok...well I don't really know how to tell you this. So um you know Max and I um yeah anyway I woke up this morning felling sick to my stomach. I thought it was just my nerves but I took a pregnancy test and it was...positive." I said. Both of them got wide-eyed then smiled. Then they looked at each other. "Why are you two smiling? I'm freaking out!" I said.

"Wait you mean you're not going to marry Max? Your still marrying Alexander?" Spencer asked.

"I'm marrying Alexander still. Max doesn't even know yet. You two are the only ones and you can't tell anyone." I said and they nodded.

"You are going to tell Max, right?" Jason asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean I want to but I'm marrying some one else and I can easily pull it off as Alexander's." I said.

"You need to tell him." Spencer said.

"I will I just need to give it time." I said.

"As long as it isn't in nine months." Jason said.

"I will tell him soon. Can we move on with this." I said.

"Sure. What we originally came here to do was to give you our brotherly support." Spencer said.

"You two are the best brothers I could ever ask for. I'm really glad to have both. I want both of you to know and this goes for everyone but I want to be apart of your lives still. I hope to come to your graduations then eventually your weddings and then the birth of your children and you really mean a lot to me. I didn't think that I would want you two or any of the guys here for my wedding but I'm really glad you came." I said then they both hugged me.

"Carter you mean a lot to us two." Spencer said.

"I was happy to find out that Thalia was my full sister then to figure out that I not only had a sister but a brother and another sister." Jason said.

"Thanks you two. I love you both so much we just need Thalia right now and we would have our sibling bond." I said to them. They both smiled. Another person knocked on my door. I walked over and opened it to see my mother.

"Oh Demitra you look so beautiful!" She said then hugged me then spotted Spencer and Jason.

"We'll let you two have mother daughter bonding time." they said then walked out.

"Darling I'm so happy. This is a day I have been looking forward to since the day you were born." she said then looked at me.

"Mom I don't think I'm making the right decision." I said to her.

"Honey you are. Trust me. When I was getting married to Armand, I didn't think that I was making the right decision but he turned out to be a wonderful husband and father to you even if you weren't his daughter. He loved you darling and he would be so happy right now." she said.

"Thanks mom but there is something I need to tell you." I said.

"What is it dear?" she asked.

"I'm pregnant with Max's child." I said to her.

"Honey..."

"I know what you're going to say..."

"It's ok."

"What?"

"Demitra, the same thing happened to me. I had an affair but the result was a beautiful, amazing daughter." she said.

"Thanks mom. So you're not disappointed with me?"

"No honey. I know that you and Alexander will make wonderful parents."

"Wait you mean that I shouldn't tell Max?" I asked her.

"No I don't think so. Honey you are getting married no one needs to know that your carrying Max's child. Just move on." she said. Oh my gods. I'm turning into my mother. I became Queen at age eighteen, I got engaged to someone I didn't love, I had an affair and now I'm getting married. If this pattern continues, oh I cannot become my mother.

"But mother..."

"Honey lets just move on because I have a gift for you." she said then pulled out a box. She pulled out a diamond clip.

"This was my grandmothers which she wore on her wedding, my mother's which she wore on her wedding and mine in which I wore it on my wedding. I want to give this to you so you can wear it on your wedding day. Think of it as something old." she said. She grabbed my veil and attached it with the clip. It was gorgeous.

"Thanks mom. I have something new, my dress and something old with my clip and now I just need something borrowed and something blue." I said.

"Hmm well you have blue flowers." she said.

"Ok something borrowed." I said.

"I'm sure one of your friends has something." she said. Thalia came in.

"Hey so you need something borrowed. Have I got something for you." she said. She pulled off her bracelet.

"Thalia that's so sweet of you." I said to her.

"It looks nice on you. So you ready for this?" she asked.

"Um I'm not really sure. I guess but I'm so nervous." I said.

"Carter you're a much better person than I am. I would never do something like this for my country. Well I mean I did help save the world but what your doing is col too." she said. I gave her a hug.

"Thanks for everything." I said to her.

"Anything. I need to go take my seat. See you out there." she said. This was it. I'm getting married in a matter of minutes. After about thirty minutes of final preparations, I walked down the stairs and prepared to walk down the aisle. My wedding was outside on a hill that to the left has the sea. Its really beautiful. The music started to play and Penelope walked down the aisle. Just a matter of minutes. Then my music began to play. I walked towards the aisle gracefully and everyone stood. I recognized all the other country ambassadors. I saw my friends and Max. Oh my gods he was more handsome than ever. He looked at me and smiled. I finally reached Alexander and he smiled.

"You look stunning." he whispered to me. I turned to face him. I then looked over at my friends. Nico and Annabeth were restraining Thalia from doing anything stupid. I faced Alexander again.

"I can't do this." I said.

"What, Carter are you serious?" he asked.

"Alexander this isn't right. I can't marry you for money and I love Max. You understand right?" I asked him.

"I guess but..." I kissed him on the cheek and told the officiant what my thoughts were and he nodded.

I faced my guests. Then I handed Penelope my bouquet.

"Um I have something to say. I'm not getting married. I was only going to marry Alexander because I thought that it was best for my country because it would boost the Greek economy. I really care about my country and my citizens but I just cant do this. I still love my ex-boyfriend and I don't care that he isn't in the same social class as me. That shouldn't be whats important, I mean we live in the twenty-first century not the sixteenth. I hope that you can support me with my decision and I thank all you for coming." I said. My friends smiled and Max came up to me.

"I love you." he said and I just kissed him. I talked to my mother who was still in shock after my decision. Then I talked to my friends. They all said that they were happy that I chose not to marry Alexander, who looked very upset. I walked up to my room with Max and we sat on the bed.

"I don't know why they were restraining Thalia, I mean I was about to burst up there and punch Alexander in the face."

"Glad you didn't. I tried to give my speech on how class doesn't matter and if my boyfriend punched a guy in the face, that would have looked bad." I said. We both laughed. My stomach had yet another pain. Now was a better time then ever.

"Something else made my decision easier." I said.

"What?" Max asked smiling.

"Max, I'm pregnant."

**Longest chapter I have ever written! Wow so what did you think? Hopefully you liked it. Probably pretty predictable but whatevs. I want to thank Thalia Di Angelo for the idea of Carter's pregnancy and my bff I-am-too-outrageous-4u for the wedding idea. As usual I have Carter's wedding dress on my profile and her shoes. Thanks everyone and please review :)**


	9. I talk to Max

**Hey everyone so hope you liked my last chapter! It was by far the longest chapter I have ever written. I don't know if any other chapter will be that long but you never know! Also if you have any ideas that would be great! Let me know :) I don't own Percy, Annabeth does.**

"Your pregnant?!" Max said to me then brushed his hair back.

"Um yeah I know its going to make things even more..."

"I'll move to Greece for my residency." he said.

"You don't need to move here. I mean that I know you want to stay in New York..."

"Not if my girlfriend and my future child are going to be in Greece. I want to move here to be with you and our child." Max said then kissed me.

"You mean your going to stay with me?" I asked him.

"Why wouldn't I? I love you and I know we can get through this together." he said.

"I'm really glad that I have you by my side."

"My mom is going to have a tantrum when I tell her about this." Max said.

"My mother told me to stay with Alexander. The more I realize it I'm following in her footsteps."

"Your nothing like your mom." he said.

"Really? Let's see, we both have black curly hair, we both grew up in a royal family, we both became Queen of Greece at age eighteen, we both got engaged to men we don't love, we both had an affair, and we both got pregnant at age twenty-one." I said.

"Difference is, you didn't marry your fiancé and your going to makes great mom." he said to me.

"Thanks. I'm not going to tell anyone until I know for a fact that it's a true positive. Well three people besides you know." I said.

"Let me guess, your mother, Annabeth and Thalia."

"Nope my mother, Jason and Spencer."

"Why did you tell them?"

"There my brothers and I just found out the moment they came in." I said.

"Fine they're your brothers so that's cool but no body else." he said.h

"I'm really tired so I think I'm just going to sleep." I said to him.

"Ok if you need anything let me know." he said then gave me a kiss.

* * *

We woke up the next morning, but today I didn't feel sick which was good.

"Morning beautiful, how are you feeling?" Max asked me.

"I'm not sick so that's good just I have a migraine." I said. It was really painful. I get them here and there but this one was bad.

"Do you want me to shut the blinds?" he asked.

"Please also do you mind getting me some tea? Just ask one of the maids they know my usual." I said to him.

"Ok anything else?" he asked.

"No thanks. Maybe we should go to a doctor and find out for sure that I'm pregnant." I said.

"I'm sorry but did you forget that your boyfriend is a medical student at Princeton?" he asked.

"Have you been certified? I don't think so. Plus you don't have the right supplies."

"It's a pregnancy test. What other supplies do you think they use?" he asked.

"Max don't argue with me."

"Fine I'll take you to the hospital." he said. After we both got ready, I drove Max and I to the hospital. We walked in trying not to be seen by paparazzi. I checked in and we waited for a while then a nurse came over.

"Hello Ms. Spiros, oh your highness."

"Please call me Carter." I said to her.

"Ok. Just follow me this way." she said then Max and I followed her to one of the rooms. "So what have you come in for?" she asked again.

"I took a couple of pregnancy tests last night and all of them said positive but I want to confirm the results." I said to her.

"Ok I'll get the doctor in charge of pregnancies." she said then walked out of the room. Within a few minutes, a female doctor came in.

"Hello. So from what I have heard your tests last night were positive?" she asked.

"Yes they were." I said to her and Max grabbed my hand.

"Ok well did you feel very tired or having pains all over your body?" she asked.

"Well I was pretty tired last night but now I'm not feeling tired at all and I did have a lot of pains in my stomach last night."

"Ok those are some signs that you are pregnant but it could mean nothing. Have you been nauseous or have you been having headaches?" she asked.

"Well I was sick yesterday and I have a migraine."

"Ok seems like the symptoms of pregnancy but you should take one of our blood tests." she said.

"Ok." She came in with a needle and drew my blood. Then she took it back to be analyzed.

"So as the test is being analyzed we should talk. From what I assume, this wasn't planned."

"No it wasn't." I said to her.

"Well if the test is positive, are you willing to take care of a child?" she asked.

"Absolutely." Max and I said in unison.

"That's very good news. So I suppose that both of you want the test to come out negative?" she asked.

"Yes but if it's a positive it's not the end of the world." I said to her.

"ok well I will get those test results." she said then left. I looked at Max who gripped my hand tighter.

"We are in this together." he said then kissed the top of my head." the doctor came back in with a few papers.

"So I have your results..."

"And?"

"Your not pregnant." Max and I looked at each other with relief.

"Oh good thank you doctor but why was I having all of those symptoms?" I asked.

"Well it is possible that you could have conceived but had an automatic miscarriage or it could be because of stress. All of the country knows about your wedding yesterday. You could have been having a lot of stress and your body responded to that. Hopefully the next time I see you, you will be married and having a planned pregnancy." she said.

"That's for sure. Thank you." I said to her. Max and I walked back to my car.

"Well I'm glad we aren't going to parents. I would have been by you the whole time but I'm not ready to be a dad." he said.

"Yeah we are going to make great parents one day." I said to him and he got a little bit of an upset look.

"Yeah we will."

"Is something wrong?" I asked him.

"No of course not." he said. The rest of the car ride was pretty much silent. We pulled up to the palace and walked inside to see all of our friends talking.

"Oh my gods your pregnant?" Thalia asked.

"Wait what?" I asked them and looked around.

"When is the baby due?" Sadria asked.

"Guys I think that..." Max tried to say.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Kat asked.

"I'm not pregnant!" I said.

"But Kat said that you were." Percy said and Spencer just looked down at the ground.

"Spencer, Jason can I talk to you two for a minute?" I asked them.

"I didn't tell anyone. It wasn't me." Jason said.

"Spencer!"

"I only told Kat. I didn't think she would tell." Spencer said. I punched him in the shoulder.

"Spencer, Kat is like a child, she tells everything she hears! And it was a false pregnancy." I said to him.

"Sorry Carter." he said to me.

"It's fine. I'm not telling you anything that is big news because you're not trustworthy with secrets, Jason is though." I said.

"Yep. Suck it Spencer!" Jason said.

"You told me." Piper said.

"I'm not telling either one of you big secrets." I said.

"That's fair." Spencer and Jason said in unison.

"Even though I'm not pregnant, I'm still really tired so I think I'm going to take a nap." I said then kissed Max.

* * *

Max's POV

It was a relief to find out that Carter wasn't pregnant. I really love her and I was telling her the truth when I said I would be with her through everything. I just tried not to show how freaked out I was. Sadly I leave to go back to New York tomorrow. All of our friends went around Athens for the day. I saw Alexander walking in.

"Hello Max." he said. It has been really awkward having to see him after the wedding incident. He was leaving this afternoon though.

"Hey what's going on?" I asked trying to break the awkwardness.

"A little depressed after Carter left me for you in front of the world leaders. I should tell you something though." he said.

"Look I know you hate me and you have every right to. I mean I hate you because we are both after the same girl."

"Yes its true that I hate you. You should know more about your girlfriend though."

"What?"

"Carter isn't innocent. She always is saying how I cheated on her and making me look like a bastard. Yes I cheated on her but she cheated on me too."

"I find that hard to believe." I said to him.

"Really because she cheated on you with me."

"No she did not. Carter would never cheat on me."

"She did. I mean we kissed in the courtyard when it was her seventeenth birthday, then we made-out a couple of times in the last week." he said.

"First of all, I forgave her for the courtyard thing and second of all we haven't been together since last week well I mean we got back together last night..."

"Yes well fine. When I was dating her and she found out I cheated on her, she hooked up with some random guy. Then after we broke up, she slept with a bunch of random guys. She also turned to pill popping and drinking a lot. She would drink so much she would pass out."

"Your lying." I told him.

"If that's what you want to believe then fine." he said then got up. "Oh and don't be surprised when she leaves you for someone else."

I really hate that guy. I really love Carter and if her past is true, I'm not going to confront her about it. I can look past what she did because that's what love is about. I met the most amazing girl and no matter what, I'm not letting her go.

**So what did you all think? Let me know by reviewing and if you have any ideas let me know too :) Thanks!**


	10. I move back to NYC

**Hey everyone! So let me know if you have any ideas! I don't own PJO! **

One year later...

It's been a little over a year since my almost marriage to Alexander. The last year has been eventful for not only me but for my friends. All of my friends graduated college in June. I went to every one of their graduations. Annabeth is going on to be an architect as expected. Percy did really amazing at baseball throughout highschool and college, amazing enough to be signed with the Yankees. Connor graduated from Harvard Law and is going into the law firm. Nico graduated as a medical student along with Max and he is going into his residency to become a brain surgeon. Spencer graduated from Cornell and is going into stocks. Sadria got offered a job at Christian Louboutin. Kat did graduate school at FIT but hasn't done much with it. Clarisse and Chris graduated from Arizona. Clarisse is going to be a personal trainer and Chris is working in business. Max is going to move back to New York along with everyone else and going into his residency to become an E.R. doctor. Thalia is going to be an elementary teacher. I have no idea why but hopefully she does well. As for me, I am still in Greece. However, I accomplished something huge, I got my country out of debt. It took a lot of patience and a lot of advice but with our new trade programs and the help with other countries, we got out of debt.

There is just one thing, I don't really want to rule over Greece. I love my country but I accomplished what I wanted to do as Queen, I got my country out of debt. I want to move to Greece to be with Max and all my other friends. I walked up to my mother to talk to her.

"Hello Demitra. I have a suggestion on your..."

"Mother, I want to give up the throne."

"What! Demitra I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Mother you can take over again but I want to be with Max."

"So your moving to New York?" she asked me.

"That's the plan. Mother I really love him and he loves me. The royal life just isn't for me."

"I suppose I could take back the throne. However I expect you to still be apart of this country. You need to advise the decisions and come to meetings once in a while."

"Ok. I'll make the announcement tomorrow." I said to her.

* * *

The next day...

I went on worldwide television and stated that I was stepping down from being Queen and giving the throne back to my mother. Of course with that came a lot questions from the press. I went back in and packed my things and called Max.

"Hey beautiful um I just saw the breaking news thing. You gave up the throne?" he asked me.

"Yeah I did. So I'm flying to New York tomorrow to move there. I still need to look for a place but until then I can live in the plaza."

"Why don't you move in with me?" he asked. This was a huge step in our relationship, he wanted me to move in with him!

"Really?"

"Yes you should. I love you and I think that we've reached that point in our relationship that you should move in. Oh and we are all having a late graduation party tomorrow afternoon. We decided to just have a late party that celebrates all of us graduating."

"That's sounds really fun. I can't wait to see you and everyone else!" I said to him.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing you too, beautiful. Love you."

"Love you too." I hung up the phone and finished packing the boxes with the help of my maids. I was moving back to New York. I love living in New York. Also I will be with all of my friends and especially with Max. My room looked so empty with everything packed up. My mother walked into my room.

"Demitra can I talk to you about something?" she asked me.

"Sure whats up and mom can you please call me Carter?"

"Ok Carter," oh my gods if she called me Carter then that means she is trying to have a mother daughter bond not some lecture," So I want to talk to you about moving to New York." she said.

"Ok what about it?" I asked her.

"Where are you going to live?" she asked me.

"I'm moving in with Max. Now before you say anything..."

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Yes more than anything. He is a really sweet, intelligent and kind guy. I'm really happy when I'm with him."

"I can tell with the way you light up when you talk about him. I will try to get used to the idea of it." she said,

"Thanks mom, it means a lot to me that you're trying."

"Carter you and I have fought a lot over the years and I realized that you're the only daughter I will have and I should be more considerate of your choices. I made a lot of bad choices growing up and I'm glad to have you."

"Thanks mom. I love you."

"I love you too Carter. I'm going to miss you but I wish the best in New York." she said then kissed the top of my head.

I woke up the next morning ready to fly to New York. Everything was packed in the plane and I got on alone. When I arrived in New York, I felt at home. I had all of my things taken to Max's apartment then I took a taxi to the Jackson's apartment. The last time I was here was a couple of months ago when I came to Percy, Kat and Spencer's graduation. I walked in to see everyone there but Kat and Spencer.

"HEY!" Everyone said then gave me a hug. I walked up to Max and gave him a kiss. Everyone was smiling. I spotted Mrs. La Rue and Josh.

"Hello Mrs. La Rue." I said to her.

"Hello Carter. I hear you're moving in with my son."

"Yes we are moving in together. I'm really happy to be with Max."

"Uh-huh." she said then walked away.

"I see she still hates me." I said to Josh.

"She still supports Max and Emma but I'm glad your with Max. He really loves you and I'm glad to hear your moving in together."

"Thanks Josh! Yeah I'm really excited."

"Just don't let him trash the place." Josh said.

"With my OCD, that's impossible." Josh laughed then Kat and Spencer walked in.

"I can't wait any longer Spencer, WE ARE ENGAGED!" Kat yelled. We all went up and congratulated them. Also all the girls swarmed Kat to see her ring.

"Congrats!" I said to Spencer and gave him a hug.

"Thanks. Glad to hear your moving back to NYC." Spencer said.

"Yeah I'm glad too. So when's the big day?"

"Not for a while probably a year from now." Spencer said beaming.

"I'm really happy for you Spencer!"

"Thanks. I assume Kat wants you in the wedding along with the other girls. Would you be up for that?" he asked me.

"Of course! I love weddings!"

* * *

After celebrating Kat and Spencer's engagement and seeing Sally cry for about an hour saying how happy she was, Max and I went home. We drove back to Max and my apartment. I haven't seen it yet because Max moved into it after I left to go back to Greece. We walked down the hall and he unlocked the door. The apartment was amazing. The whole back wall facing the door was all glass. To my left was the kitchen which had marble countertops and was very put together. The whole apartment was open except for one room which looked to be the dining room. Then to my right was the 'living room.' Basically it was a off-white couch with a throw over it then a multi-colored rug and a flat screen t.v. Then the bedroom part was a loft that overlooks the bottom floor. We walked up the staircase that was hidden in the back to see a king-sized bed against the glass wall with a side table on each side. Then up there was also a bathroom and a huge closet.

"Max I love this place!" I said to him and gave him a kiss.

"Thanks well its your place too so make yourself at home." he said. I fell back into the bed which felt like a cloud. Max laid down next to me.

"I am so excited for Kat and Spencer. Have you thought about us and our future together?" I asked Max who just smiled.

"Yeah I have. So far, all I know is that my future includes you. I love you."

"Love you too." I told him and he gave me a kiss.

"Welcome home."

**What did you think? Any ideas please let me know! Thanks everyone oh and my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u helped me with this and read her story A Million Reasons Why. Thanks everyone and please review :) **


	11. Kat and Spencer's wedding

**Hey my lovely readers! So I hope you have liked my story so far! If you have ideas please let me know because I don't have a lot and throw out anything and I just might use it with your credit of course :) Anyways also I have posted everything on my profile for this chapter at the very bottom of the page. I want to go into fashion which is why I post dresses and everything! So thanks to all of you and I don't own PJO!**

Wow I can't believe that Max and I have lived with each other for almost a year. Today was a very important day to all of us, Kat and Spencer were going to be getting married today! I was one of Kat's bridesmaids and Max was a groomsmen. I threw on my tank top and shorts to meet the girls at the building to get ready. Max was going to meet Spencer and the other guys for breakfast before the ceremony. I gave Max a kiss then drove out to the Hamptons where we all rented a huge house to stay in for the weekend. When I got there, Kat was sitting while Sadria did her hair and make-up. Kat looked so beautiful. Her red hair was curled and swept to the side. She had on bright red lipstick and mascara that Sadria was also applying to Kat's face.

"How's the future Mrs. Bolt?" I asked Kat.

"Exhausted but I'm really happy." she said then stood up. We all helped her into her wedding dress which was a strapless ball gown with rhinestones at the top of the dress then a criss-cross fabric across her mid-section. She was stunning and she had on hot pink high-heels that had rhinestones on the heel part itself. The whole entire wedding was pink-themed but Spencer just wanted to make Kat happy by going along with it. Our bridesmaids dresses were strapless floor length baby pink dresses that had gathering towards the bottom. Thalia and Clarisse and you could say Piper sucked up wearing pink bridesmaids dresses. Sadria was Kat's maid of honor and she helped with calming Kat down. After getting all of our hair and make-up done, we gathered in a limo to take us to the location of the wedding. There was a small tent that was near the wedding ceremony for us to proceed out of. The ceremony was being held next to the ocean on the grass. There were arches that stood above the aisle that we were to all go down. The arches were covered in multi-shades of pink flowers, mostly roses, and had lanterns hanging from the sides. It was about time to walk down the aisle and both Paul and Sally walked in.

"Oh Kat you look so beautiful!" Sally said tears running down her cheeks.

"Thanks mom." Kat said then gave her a hug.

"Oh I don't want to wrinkle your dress. I'm going to take my seat." she said then gave Kat a kiss.

"Are you ready for me?" Paul asked and Kat walked over to be next to him.

"Bridesmaids! Places!" the wedding coordinator said to all of us. We grabbed our lime green bouquets and got ready. The processional music played and we all walked down the aisle. Everyone was smiling and a lot of the people who came were from camp. It was a wedding and a camp reunion all in one. Katie Gardener was sitting next to her boyfriend Travis who I didn't really know as well as I know Connor. Spencer was smiling and so were the other guys. Spencer had on a grey tuxedo with a pink bow tie and a pink waistband to match the pink theme. The guys all had on grey tuxedos as well but with white and pink striped bow ties. Then the music started to play and everyone stood up. Paul was walking Kat down the aisle. She looked so happy and so did Paul. We all were smiling and even Spencer looked like he was going to cry tears of happiness. Of course Sally was bawling but none of us expected anything else. They reached the end of the aisle and Spencer grabbed Kat's hand. They smiled at each other and whispered something.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Katarina and Spencer in holy matrimony. If anyone objects to these two being together speak now and forever hold your peace." the officiant said. No one said anything so he went on to explain more about Kat and Spencer as a couple and how lovely they are together.

"The couple has decided to say their own vows." the officiant said then Spencer grabbed Kat's hands.

"Kat from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one. I love how kind and thoughtful you are to everyone even people you don't know. I also love how happy you make people when they are feeling upset about things in life. Your beautiful and kind and I'm really glad that your mine. Everyday with you is an adventure and I can't wait to start the next journey with you. I love you so much and I'm really happy to become your husband." Spencer said and of course all of the girls teared up even Clarisse, Thalia, Piper and Annabeth.

"Spencer you are so amazing. You make me feel like a better person about myself especially since I'm not the brightest girl in the world. You look past my flaws and make me the luckiest girl in the world to have you. Being with you everyday is so amazing and makes each day that much better to wake up and be with you. I love you and I couldn't imagine any other person to share my life with." Kat said.

"Now for the exchanging of the rings." the officiant said. Spencer grabbed the ring from Percy and faced Kat.

"I Spencer James Bolt give you Katarina Brooklyn Jackson this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." Spencer slipped the beautiful wedding band and the diamond ring on to her hand. Kat grabbed Spencer's ring from Sadria and grabbed his hand.

"I Katarina Brooklyn Jackson give you Spencer James Bolt this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." Kat said to Spencer then put the wedding band on his ring finger.

" May the blessing of Aphrodite live on in your lives. By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Spencer pulled Kat in and gave her a kiss.

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Bolt." the officiant said. We all clapped and Kat and Spencer walked down the aisle. Max grabbed my hand and we walked to the car which we took to the reception area about two miles down the road. The cocktail tables were beautiful. They were draped in hot pink fabric and tied of with black fabric. On top they had bouquets with pink, orange and white roses. We all walked around and talked. I went up to both Kat and Spencer and congratulated them. We walked into the reception area which was even more beautiful. It was a white tent with huge rose bouquets hanging from the top. The tables had pink chairs and pink napkins with a beautiful rose centerpiece. We all sat down and then the Greek salad was served. After we ate that the main dish came out. It was serf and fly because of Poseidon and Zeus. So there was a piece of salmon and a piece of chicken with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. I scooped my salmon and chicken off onto Max's plate and he just smiled at me. After we ate, Kat and Spencer were about to cut the first piece of cake. The cake was four layers with white frosting that had swirls as details on them. Then separating each layer was a fuchsia ribbon and on top were fuchsia roses. They cut the first piece and instead of kindly feeding it to each other, they shoved it into each others faces. It was really cute and hilarious at the same time. They walked out onto the dance floor for their first dance. The song Kiss me Slowly by Parachute came on. They danced along and looked so cute together. After they danced it was time for all the speeches. Sadria walked up to the microphone and looked at Kat and Spencer.

"As most of you know, I'm Kat's twin sister and her best friend. Kat and I have been through a lot together from being in the womb, to birth, to learning how to walk and even loosing our first tooth on the same day. Kat has always been there for me and I've always been there for here. When Kat met Spencer, I have to admit I was pretty jealous. Spencer is a really amazing guy and he really cares about Kat. They always light up when they see each other. I'm really happy for both of them and I'm also happy to have Spencer as a brother-in-law. To Kat and Spencer may your life be filled with happiness." Sadria said and Kat ran up to give her a hug. Percy walked up after Sadria.

"I feel like I need to say some things since I'm the best man and the brother to the bride. I didn't even know that I had any siblings, then I found out that I had two twin sisters when I was just shy of my seventeenth birthday. Kat was the more outgoing of the two. She would talk to anyone and say anything she wanted. When I found out that Spencer was her boyfriend, I went into protective brother mode. I want both of my sisters to be happy. I see how happy Spencer makes Kat and how much they love each other. Spencer is one of my best friends and I'm glad he is apart of my family. Spencer if you even dare make my sister unhappy I will personally deal with you. I don't think that could ever happen though so to Kat and Spencer!" Percy said. Thalia went up and talked about Spencer and being his half-sister then I went up.

"It's been a little over six years that I have known Kat and Spencer. Kat is one of my best friends and as Sadria and Percy said she is always so happy and sweet. When I found out that Spencer was my half-brother, I was really happy. Spencer had to put up with Thalia and I with having a majority girls over guys in the summer. He is very caring and so kind to everyone. He has always been there for me especially last summer with my almost wedding mistake. He knows how to make a person feel better just like Kat which makes them the perfect pair. I love them both and I wish them the best!" I said. After some of our other friends gave speeches, we danced the rest of the night. Kat and Paul had a father-daughter dance and we all smiled at them. It was really fun to be at the wedding then Kat was going to toss the bouquet.

"Ok ladies are you ready?" she said and all the girls stood around her. She turned around and threw the bouquet. The person who caught it was Sadria. Kat gave her a hug. I danced with Spencer for one song which was nice. I was really glad that Spencer and Kat were married, it made me look forward to my future with Max.

**The first wedding chapter is done! So what did you all think? Please review and if you have any ideas let me know! Thanks everyone and please check out the pics on my profile! You all are the best :)**


	12. Breakfast at the Palm Court

**Hey everyone! Let me know if you have any ideas because I really need them! Any ideas are fine just if you have any let me know! Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO! My best friend gave me all the ideas for Spencer and Kat's wedding I just forgot to credit her.**

Its been three months since Kat and Spencer got married. They were really cute as a married couple. Annabeth and Percy invited Max and I over for dinner before Max had to go to the hospital. We drove over to their apartment and knocked on their door.

"Hey. Annabeth should be here soon she just got out of work." Percy said. We walked over to the living room which like Max and my apartment, had a wall of just windows that overlooked Manhattan. Annabeth walked in setting her briefcase on a chair.

"I just quit my job." she said and all three of us got a shocked look.

"WHAT?" we all shouted in unison.

"Well one of the top architects decided to start his own business and asked me if I would like to be his partner, in which I said yes." Annabeth said.

"That's great!" I said to her.

"Thanks. Wow all of our careers are taking off. I'm really excited to start this new job." Annabeth said.

"Yeah gave up on my career. I just attend political meetings that involve Greece." I said.

"Yeah. Well I am going to be a partner for a successful architecture company, Percy is having a great career as a Yankee's player, Max your successful as a doctor, Sadria is really successful as a designer for Christian Louboutin and the list goes on." Annabeth said.

"Sometimes I wish I had something to do during the day but its nice to have a flexible schedule." I said to them.

"I wish I had a flexible schedule. Working outrageous hours really screws with my body. Percy I'm starving is dinner almost done?" Max asked Percy.

"Dinner should be ready soon." Percy said then walked to the kitchen.

"Do you two want to move into the kitchen?" Annabeth asked. We all walked in as Percy was dishing up dinner. It was cheese tortellini with olive oil. We all sat down and discussed things going on in our lives and that of our friends. Max's phone vibrated on the table and he picked it up.

"Hello. Ok I'll be there as fast as I can." Max said then turned the phone off.

"You have to leave early?" I asked him.

"Yeah some little boy is having major ceisures." he said then gave me a kiss and waved goodbye to all of us. I talked more with Percy and Annabeth about things then both my phone and Annabeth's phone buzzed with a new text message from Sadria:

_Hey girls! So I was thinking, we should all have breakfast tomorrow at the palm court just us girls. U all up for it?_

Annabeth and I looked at each other and just responded with yes.

* * *

The next morning I woke up next to Max who was fast asleep after working till four in the morning. I got up and got dressed to meet up with the girls.

"Hey beautiful where you going?" Max asked me sitting up in the bed.

"Breakfast with the girls, remember?" I asked him.

"Right I totally forgot. Have fun and I'll see you later, although I might still be asleep on the bed." he said then I walked over and gave him a kiss.

"Try to get up in the next couple of hours. I'll see you later." I said to Max then walked out. I went down to the Plaza hotel and into the Palm Court to meet up with the other girls. They all sat around the table having their morning drinks.

"Hey girls." I said the them then took a seat.

"Hey whats going on?" Sadria asked.

"Nothing really, you?" I asked Sadria.

"Well I have big news, Connor proposed!" Sadria said and we all smiled.

"Congrats!" we all screamed which probably pissed off everyone else but we didn't care.

"Show the ring!" Hazel said then Sadria stuck out her hand. It was a gorgeous ring. It was silver but instead of a big diamond it was a white pearl with two flower-looking diamonds on each side.

"Absolutely stunning! So how did he propose?" I asked her.

"To start out he asked my mom and Paul a couple of days ago and they said yes. I thought it was very gentlemen-like to ask my parents. I was working on some wedding shoes for Christian Louboutin and they are gorgeous, so Connor came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. He asked me about the shoes and I told him they were for the new wedding line. Then he said so are these going to be your shoes for our wedding? And I turned around and said what did you just say? Then he grabbed my hand and walked over to the floor and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him." Sadria said.

"That is so sweet! I didn't think that was possible for a Stoll." Annabeth said.

"He is so amazing! I know he was pretty immature when we were younger but now he is so kind and sweet but still keeping his Hermes traits. I can't wait to get married to him!" Sadria said and we all smiled.

"So have you planned anything?" I asked her.

"Well we are definitely getting married by the water possibly a beach wedding like Kat's but not in the Hamptons and I think, if they get approved, I will wear the shoes I designed because they have a blue sole for 'something blue'." she said.

"I love being married. It's so much fun. Spencer and I get along really well and we agree on a lot of things." Kat said.

"Connor and I agree on a lot of things too but we have are arguments. I never thought I would get married before any of you minus Kat." Sadria said.

"We will all get married one day." I said.

"Chris and I have talked about our future together so a proposal might be coming soon." Clarisse said.

"Jason and I aren't going to rush anything. We're happy right now." Piper said.

"I want to wait a little bit before I get married. I've talked to Nico about it and we decided to wait for at least a couple of months before we take it into consideration." Thalia said taking a sip of her coffee.

"I'm too young to get married so I'm not even thinking about getting married but I hope to stay with Frank." Hazel said.

"I don't really want to get married." Annabeth said and we all looked at her with shock.

"Why not? You and Percy are amazing together." I said to her.

"Maybe one day but both of our careers are taking off and I don't want to rush anything. I love him a lot but I'm not ready to get married." Annabeth said.

"I want to. Max and I haven't really talked about it much but I hope to soon. He is definitely the one." I said to them.

"Max is just complicated." Clarisse said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"He just...he's really sweet but he has some issues with commitment." she said then looked down at her drink.

"We've been dating for six years." I told her.

"Yeah hence the word dating. Look what I'm trying to say is don't expect a ring anytime soon.

"On that happy note let's talk about something else." Piper said. Annabeth told everyone about her new job then Sadria told us about her new designs for Christian Louboutin and Thalia discussed her job as a teacher. It was fun talking to the girls about everything.

"We should make this place our place to share good news and talk catch up on each other's lives." Sadria said and we all nodded. That table was the official 'news' table for us and we would meet there once every month, for every birthday and additional times for sharing big news. Hopefully one of these times, I'll be the one with good news, maybe even engagement news.

**Let me know what you all thought by reviewing! Oh and I can't stress enough, I NEED IDEAS! Please send me some and thank you to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for helping me with this chapter and check out her story A Million Reasons Why. Thanks everyone :)**


	13. The good and the bad news

**Bonjour tut le monde! I'm getting in my French mood for my Switzerland meeting coming up! YEAH! Anyway hopefully all of you are doing well. Thanks to the people who gave me ideas, I just might use some :) Also if you have anymore that's great! The more the merrier! So I want to thank all of you for actually reading my story or stories because it means a lot to me and also my BFF I'm-too-outrageous-4u helps me write a lot of these chapters, well she gives me a ton of ideas so thanks to her :) I love all of you and if you ever want to talk, PM me! I don't own PJO!**

Max was at the hospital and today was my physical. I had to get one to make sure I was healthy enough to drive because hopefully in the next two weeks I get my American driver's license! I don't want to be the one friend out of all of my other friends who doesn't know how to drive. I know how to in Europe just not America. Who's idea was it to switch everything up like what side you drive on and what side the steering wheel is on. I have no idea but it would be better for all of us new-Americans not to make it more difficult. I walked down the hallway my heels clicking against the floor then I saw a familiar face, Nico.

"Hey Nico how are you?" I asked him and he turned around. He was dressed in his scrubs and had a clipboard in his hand.

"Oh hey Carter. I'm good, on break for now but why are you here? Not trying to be a jerk or anything." Nico said.

"I have to get some tests done before I take my driver's tests."

"You have to take tests?" Nico asked with a weird expression.

"Well I don't have very many American medical records and according to them I need to get my mental health checked."

"Your not crazy. I mean you have OCD issues but that's it. I mean unless there is something else..."

"I have serious migraines a lot and need medication for them but I also have had a history with depression so they need to check that out also."

"Oh got it. Are you also here to see Max because he is delivering a baby right now." Nico said. It's sometimes weird for me to think about Max's job. He doesn't sit in an office like a lot of people, nope he delivers children, performs surgery etc.

"I would like to see him but I'm not more important than that child so I can wait. I wonder when we have kids if he is going to deliver them." I told Nico.

"It's possible. Chances are he will deliver all of our friends children and maybe even mine one day." Nico said and I smiled.

"Is Thalia pregnant?" I asked him and he got a shocked look on his face.

"Not that I know of, unless you heard something." he said.

"No I haven't heard anything. So do you think that you and Thalia are going to be together for the rest of your lives?" I asked him.

"I hope so."

"Are you going to propose?" I asked him and he smiled.

"No..."

"Oh my gosh when are you?"

"Tonight. Well I hope to but I swear Carter you can't tell anyone, I mean it." Nico said.

"I promise. I won't say anything unless Thalia tells me that you did. Congratulations though."

"Thanks. One day Max will be threating me not to tell anyone about him proposing."

"Wait has he hinted to you that he might?" I asked him.

"Actually whenever me and the guys bring up marriage or anything like that, he doesn't really talk much about it." Nico said.

"Oh well one day he hopefully will bring it up to you guys. Yeah he doesn't talk to me about our future as a couple." I said to Nico then Chris walked up.

"Hey um where is Max?" Chris asked.

"Delivering a child, why?" Nico asked.

"I need to talk to him about something." Chris said. Nico and I looked at him then at each other.

"Is everything ok with you and Clarisse?" I asked him.

"Better than ever." Chris said and I got a grin.

"Are you asking him about proposing?" I asked Chris.

"Yeah well I got permission from Clarisse's parents but I thought maybe I should ask Max too. Since we are friends but he still holds a grudge against me and my past at times." Chris said.

"When are you going to propose?" I asked him.

"I plan on proposing tonight."

"Oh my gosh both of you are! This is so exciting! I won't tell anyone about either of them I'm just so happy for both of you!" I said then hugged them both.

"I'm not really a hugging type of person." Nico said.

"I am so you can just get over it.'" I told him and he laughed so did Chris.

"Even with your OCD?" Nico asked.

"Yes. Ok it's more of the whole um germs around house and making sure everything is clean." I told him.

"Right well fine I'll let that hug slide." Nico said.

"If your going to marry my half-sister and or my best friend, I will be hugging you. Your like going to be a half-brother-in-law." I told him.

"That doesn't exist."

"It does to me. Shoot I need to go get my physical done. Good luck to both of you!" I told them as I walked away.

"Thanks." they both said in unison. I walked up to the desk and soon a nurse came out to take me back to a room.

"Ok I'll ask you some questions and answer them to the best of your abilities. Meaning try to be as close to a date as possible." the nurse said.

"Ok."

"Do you smoke? Or have you ever smoked?"

"I smoked a cigar once when I was sixteen but never since then."

"Are you on any medication?"

"I am on birth control, I take pills for my migraines, pills for my depression, um and anxiety medication." I told her.

"For how long would you say you have had migraines?"

"Since I was about thirteen."

"And depression?"

"Well I had it when I was fifteen then it went away when I was close to seventeen then returned about five months later but has faded in and out."

"Ok and what is the anxiety from?"

"I have OCD and basic anxiety that comes from a lot of things." I told her. She wrote down all the information then a female doctor walked in.

"Hello Carter, how are you feeling today?" she asked.

"I have a migraine beginning to form but other than that I'm fine."

"Right we will have that prescription filled. For the most part you seem to have a healthy body. You have ADHD still and have OCD with depression?"

"Yes, well my depression has faded in and out."

"I see ok. Um and according to some of the blood work we had done and had sent over, were you at one point an alcoholic?" she asked. That brought back terrible memories.

"Yes I was. I have a history with that and also my mother was one when she was younger."

"I see, how often do you have alcohol?" she asked.

"Only on special occasions. Maybe once a month. Um is it possible that because of my alcoholism and my depression that it can be passed down to my future children?" I asked her and she looked up.

"It's possible. If you have a partner right now, unless he has had a history of alcoholism and depression it is unlikely." she said.

"He doesn't well not that I know of." I told her and she looked at my name.

"Do you by chance know Dr. Max La Rue?" she asked.

"Yeah he is my boyfriend, why?" I asked her.

"He mentions you a lot well he has mentioned your last name only once but you seem to fit the description." she said.

"Yeah he is my boyfriend. Actually I was hoping to see him before I left but if he is busy..."

"He just finished delivering a child. If it helps to let you know, he is amazing with children." she told me.

"Really?"

"Yes he is always taking care of the young patients. He would make a great father one day. That is if you two were thinking of having children or having a long-term relationship."

"He is the one for me and I plan on having kids. I just hope he does too, but having on a ring on my finger wouldn't hurt." I told her and she laughed.

"Good luck with that. Your free to go and we should have your prescription done soon." she said.

"Thanks." I told her and walked out. I saw Max and went up to talk to him.

"Hey beautiful how did the tests go?" he asked.

"Fine nothings wrong with me, health wise." I told him.

"Good. I'm glad everything is fine." he said to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"So you just delivered a baby, how was that?"

"Fine, it was a girl. Healthy child and her parents were really nice. No problems with the delivery." he said.

"Have you given thought to having kids?" I asked him and he looked the other way.

"Um maybe that's something we should discuss at another time." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Ok I'll let you get back to work." I told him.

"Alright love you and see you at home." he said then walked away. I really hope that when he said we should discuss it later, it's a positive thing not a negative. I love him and hopefully I can spend the rest of my life with him.

**Hopefully you all liked it! Thanks everyone and please review! Also give me ideas if you have some! Thanks :)**


	14. Sadria and Connor's wedding

**Hey my lovely readers! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I have had a huge writer's block and I still have one still. So I hope your all doing well! So I changed the cover for my story! I was trying to get this one perfect image but sadly it was too big :( Anyway hopefully it fits the story well enough! I say this in every chapter but I NEED IDEAS! I have an idea for things but to me it's not enough. I've gotten ideas from a couple of people and I just might use some of them. So PM with them or put them in your reviews! Thanks and I don't own PJO!. **

We all sat on the plane to Hawaii. Sadria and Connor were going to be getting married in three days. Everyone was asleep because it was an overnight flight to Hawaii, everyone except myself and Sadria. She sat with her tray table down sketching a new shoe design. She was always sketching something fashion related whether it was shoes, a purse or a dress, she would sketch it. I went over to sit next to her since there was an open seat next to her. I got up and sat down next to her and she popped her head up.

"Oh hey Carter, I thought I was the only one awake." she said.

"I love those shoes, when can I buy them in stores?" I asked her and she smiled.

"As soon as they are approved by Monsieur Louboutin." she said then set her pencil down on the tray table.

"So how you feeling?" I asked her.

"A little nervous because I have to meet a deadline and I'm in your father's territory , but other than that I'm really excited. I get to marry the love of my life on a beautiful beach in front of everyone I love." she said.

"It's going to be beautiful. You and Connor make an amazing couple." I told her and she smiled.

"Thanks. To be honest with you, I didn't think that Connor and I would actually last. I mean when I began liking him, I thought it was just going to be a summer crush but then I fell in love with him."

"I love you too." Connor muttered with his eyes closed.

"How long have you been awake for?" Sadria asked.

"Since the last bump we hit." Connor said.

"That was like ten minutes ago."

"Yeah well I tried to fall back asleep but apparently Mr. Zeus doesn't want me to." Connor said.

"Can you believe we're getting married in three days?" Sadria asked Connor.

"I'm very excited to marry you. I love you but I want to go back to sleep." he said then gave her a kiss.

"I love you too." she told him then turned to face me. "So are you excited about Clarisse and Chris's wedding in November?" Sadria asked.

"Yeah I am. Uh I just don't want to deal with that blonde bitch though." I told her.

"I thought Mrs. La Rue had brown hair?" Sadria asked.

"Oh I was talking about Emma, but I guess I have to deal with that bitch too." I told her and she laughed.

"Max can take care of both of them."

"Yeah he probably will. I'm really exhausted so I'm going to sleep." Sadria said.

"Ok yeah I am too." I told her then walked over to my original seat next to Max. He had his head propped up against the window. I leaned up against him and drifted off.

* * *

When we arrived in Hawaii, it was absolutely gorgeous. The plants were vibrant shades of yellow and pinks. The water was a beautiful shade of blue. We all went to our rooms to drop of our bags and relax after a long, bumpy flight. Tonight was going to be Sadria's and bachelorette party and Connor's bachelor party. After a few hours all the girls met up together and went to a restaurant. After having dinner and a few pina coladas, all the girls went back to the hotel room to talk about life and the wedding. The next couple of days went by fast before I realized it, the day of Sadria and Connor's wedding came.

All the girls met up with Sadria in her hotel room. All of our bridesmaids dresses were hanging in the closet along with her two dresses. Kat walked over and began working on Sadria's hair. It was very beautiful but simple. Her natural orange curls fell on her shoulders but Kat pulled back some of her hair into a bump in the back then put a beautiful jeweled silver flower crown that sat on Sadria's head. Sadria had simple make-up on. The mascara had a tint of blue in it that made the blue in Sadria's eyes pop. We all walked over to help her into her dress. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous. It was mermaid style, perfect for the daughter of Poseidon, with beads and lace that looked like seashells and it folded into layers at the bottom and trimmed with lace. She walked over and slipped on her shoes, which she personally designed for Christian Louboutin. They were different then most of his red-sole shoes because these were white peep-toe heels with rhinestone covering the heel itself and baby blue soles. After she was ready, all the bridesmaids got on our dresses. the dresses were just above the knee in length, strapless, and were aqua chiffon with gathered fabric at the top and a satin belt around our waists.

"I just want to say thank you to all of you for being the most amazing bridesmaids a bride can ask for." Sadria said then all seven of us walked over and gave her a hug.

"Watch the dress!" she screamed and we all laughed. We grabbed our bouquets which were white roses and Sadria's was a bouquet of baby blue roses. Max sent me a quick text saying all of the guys and Connor were walking towards the beach. Sally walked in and had tears running down her face.

"Oh Sadria you look absolutely gorgeous! First Kat now you and hopefully soon Percy and Annabeth." she said then smiled at Annabeth.

"One day." Annabeth said blushing. If Percy were here he would probably be bright red and giving Sally the death glare.

"It's about time for all of you to walk down to the beach." Sally said then grabbed Sadria's arm. We walked down the steps and out towards the beach. Paul stood there waiting for Sadria and two other men walked over, Poseidon and Hermes.

"Beautiful absoltuley beautiful." Hermes said and Sadria smiled.

"Thanks."

"I don't know how you and Katie deal with Connor and Travis but you do. Connor really loves you and i'm glad to call you my in about thirty minutes, my daughter-in-law." Hermes said then gave her a hug. Katie smiled at both of them.

"It's not that bad. Being married to Travis definitely keeps things entertaining." Katie said then smiled at Sadria.

"Thanks I'm glad to become your daughter-in-law." Sadria said.

"And I'm happy to call you my full daughter. Darling you look beautiful. Both of my little girls getting married and by my realm. It's such an honor. I love you both so much." Poseidon said and Sadria and Kat gave him a hug.

"Thanks dad." Sadria said.

"You're welcome. You don't want to be late to your own wedding..." Poseidon said and Paul grabbed her hand.

'I'm happy to call you my step-daughter. Sadria I'm so happy for you and I love you." Paul said and a single tear ran down Sadria's face.

"Everyone stop making me want to cry." she said as she wipped the tear off her cheek. The wedding area was beautiful. The seats were covered in blue fabric and the aisle runner was white with blue details on the side. The Pacific Ocean was a perfect backdrop for the wedding and made the blue theme perfect. Connor was wearing a white dress top with a cobalt blue tie and then white dress pants. The groomsmen were almost the exact same except they had aqua ties to match our dresses. The music for Sadria played as she and Paul walked down the aisle. Just as Spencer had done, Connor got a little teary-eyed, Sally bawled again and Sadria had tears running down her face but she had a bright smile. Paul handed her away to Connor who grabbed her hand and whispered to her how beautiful she was. The officiant went over the basics on who they were and did opening speeches.

"Connor would you like to say your vows?" the officiant asked. Connor grabbed both of Sadria's hands and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Sadria, words cannot describe how much I love you. Your beautiful, intelligent, kind and loving to me and to everyone around you. I don't know how a guy like could be with such a wonderful girl like you. You have been there for me in every situation. You have made me a better person by helping me with my um... issues. After a long day at work, seeing you makes my day. I can't wait to be your husband and eventually start a family with you because I know you will make a wonderful wife and a wonderful mother. I will be there for you always and whenever your sad, I'll comfort you. I'm so lucky to spend the rest of my life with an amazing woman."

"Connor, being with you makes me happy. Whenever I'm sad, you always know how to make me laugh with all your jokes. I knew from the minute I saw you that you were perfect for me. You make all the worries and stresses go away whenever you give me that smile. You made me realize that there is more to life then working hard, eating, and sleeping, but there is also humor in life. You made me be able to laugh at myself and my mistakes. I know that you will be an amazing husband and an amazing father to our future children. I have, and always will, be there for you when you need me. I love you and I'm so happy to be marrying you."

"Now for the exchanging of the rings." the officiant said and Connor grabbed the ring out of Travis's hand.

"Do you Connor William Stoll take Sadria Dione Jackson to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." he said then slid the pearl-diamond ring on Sadria's ring finger."

"Do you Sadria Dione Jackson take Connor William Stoll to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." she responded and took the ring from Kat and placed in on Connor's finger.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." Connor leaned in and gave Sadria a kiss. We all clapped and watched them walk down the aisle.

* * *

We all went to the reception area which was beautiful. The tablecloths were light blue with a darker shade of baby blue runners on them. The napkins were also the shade of a darker baby blue with white ribbons tied around the silverware and a seashell in the middle of it. We all sat down and had our traditional Polynesian meal and sat around admiring the view. After the meal, it was time for cake. The cake was beautiful with six layers of alternating chocolate and vanilla cake. The icing decorations were white with baby blue frosting details then the next layer was a baby blue with white crisscross designs on it. This alternated until the top. Connor and Sadria cut a piece of the cake and like Spencer and Kat, shoved it in each other's faces. It was time for the speeches. Kat gave a sweet sisterly speech and talked about how close Sadria was to her and how she was really happy for the two of them. Percy gave his brotherly speech, this time threating Connor a little more than he did to Spencer. Travis gave a speech about Connor and how he thought Connor was lucky to have Sadria and talked about the happiness in marriage. I gave a speech talking about how close of a friend Sadria was to me and how happy I was for her. Then it was time for the couple's first dance. They chose the song "Smile" by Uncle Kracker because they make each other laugh and smile everyday.

* * *

As another part of the reception, Sadria and Connor told all their guests to bring their swim suits because they had a luau. Sadria had a short white dress on for the luau that was strapless with flowers at the top and it flowed out at the bottom. To fit the wedding a little more, all the bridesmaids had aqua suits as did the groomsmen. Connor had on black swim trunks and Sadria had a lace white bikini on. Max dragged me into the water but being with him wasn't so bad. It was hard to believe that four of our friends were married and by the end of August, eight of them will be married. All of us agreed we would all go on a vacation together before  
Thalia and Nico get married in late July. We decided to go to the Dominican Republic. Going to the Dominican is going to be so much fun! Maybe if I'm lucky, Max just might pop the question. A girl can dream, right?


	15. Emotions

**Hey everyone! So I'm going to try to write as well as I can. I NEED MORE IDEAS! Thanks to everyone who has given me ideas but I need . A lot of the ideas won't be used until later on in the story. Let me know if you have even a small idea it could help. Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

I sat on the couch in my apartment. Max was at least forty-five minutes late by now and I haven't heard anything from him. We were all going to the Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic tomorrow and I, and Max, still haven't finished packing yet. I looked over my packing list and then I heard the door open. Max came in wearing his scrubs still. He walked over and gave me a kiss.

"Your late." I told him.

"I'm sorry beautiful. Emergency surgery they needed me for and it took longer than we expected it would. I see you have the list out." he said smiling.

"Are you trying to make fun of my OCD?" I asked him.

"No. Your organization issues come in handy when we are travelling."

"Issues?"

"Not issues, I mean your um..."

"For being a doctor, you really don't know how to deal with a mental disorder patient." I told him.

"I'm not in that department. Your not a mental disorder patient, your just..."

"Max OCD is classified as a mental disorder. It's fine, I get it I have an issue." I told him glancing at my list again.

"Let's move on. I'm going to change out of these and then pack." he said going up the stairs and into our room, well the second floor was a loft which was all our bedroom. Max changed into a basic tee-shirt with jeans and we began to pack our bags. I took up most of the closet with all my things and I didn't even have all of my clothes in there.

"So are you excited to get away for a week?" Max asked me carrying over his suitcase.

"I'm so excited. I need time of from dealing with international problems in Europe. Not that we have much, mainly just my mother."

"Your mom is being annoying again?" he asked.

"Max when is she not annoying. I work on all of our government issues in Greece while balancing everything else."

"Yeah it will be weird going back to Aimesly for Clarisse's wedding."

"I like how she is having a small-town wedding. Especially since she is close to the town. I mean when we get married I was thinking in Athens..."

"Wait did you just say when we get married?" he asked with a shocked expression. I looked up and met his eyes.

"Yeah I did."

"Carter we aren't engaged." Max said setting down his sunglasses.

"Well you have given thought to our future together, haven't you?" I asked him and he looked away.

"Yes I have and I love you and want to be with you." Max said.

"So why is it such a bad thing to talk about marriage?"

"Because Carter I just... let's drop it."

"Why I mean..."

"Please can we just forget about it. So for tomorrow night's dinner are you wearing something nice or is it going to be casual?" he asked me. Unbelievable. I love Max with all my heart but I wonder if he ever will make a full commitment to us. Each wedding that goes by or every time there is an engagement within our friend group, I will bring up our future together and each time he avoids discussing it.

"I'm just going to wear a basic sundress, nothing special." I told him.

"Cool I was just thinking of wearing a causal button up with jeans." he said then walked over to grab something. The rest of the night we packed silently. The only time he would talk to me was giving an opinion on what I was going to wear or to ask me about what he was going to wear. I finished packing my bags and set them down near the railing that overlooked our bottom floor. I got into bed and still not one word. He didn't kiss me or even say goodnight for even wrap his arms around me. He had his back to me and fell asleep. It took me a while to fall asleep but my eyes started to feel heavy and I fell asleep. I had a great dream though.

_I was standing in my bedroom at the palace. All of my girls friends were there too wearing identical short red dresses. I looked down and saw a white ball gown dress laying on my bed._

_"You had to choose the most detailed wedding dress out of us all." Annabeth said laughing. Wedding dress?_

_"And the heaviest." Thalia said. I got the dress on and looked in the mirror. It was gorgeous. _

_"I don't know how my brother got a girl like you." Clarisse said helping pin my veil into my hair._

_"I love Max with all my heart. I can't believe today's the day!" I said to them, well dream me said. Then the scene switched and I looked down the aisle at Max who stood there smiling. I walked down the aisle and met up with Max. _

_"I now pronounce you husband and wife you may kiss the bride." he kissed me and everyone clapped. I was so happy this was exactly how I pictured my wedding._

* * *

"Carter, Carter, wake up." Max said to me as he shook my arm.

"Morning." I said to him. He was already dressed.

"I'll make you some tea since I know you will take forever getting ready and we don't want to miss our flight." he said.

"I don't take forever!"

"Carter, let's be real." he said.

"Fine." I told him. I pulled my hair into a bun then put some make-up on. I grabbed my pink tank top and my black shorts and put them on. I put my pink wedge sneakers on and grabbed my black bag with my hoodie.

"Honey are you almost ready" Max yelled to me from the kitchen.

"One minute." I yelled back. I went through my mental checklist then walked downstairs.

"Don't you look amazing. Haven't you heard of dressing down?" Max asked me handing me my thermos.

"This is dressing down?" I asked him.

"If you say so. Ok can we go now?" he asked.

"Yes we can go." I told him. We got a taxi to the airport and went through all the security and made it to the gate. All of our friends sat there.

"Hey guys!" Leo said. Max and I both waved. Sadria was sitting next to Connor and they were both smiling. I haven't seen either one of them since we went to Hawaii.

"How are the newly weds?" I asked them.

"Were doing great." Sadria said to me.

"Never been happier." Connor said then gave Sadria a kiss.

"That's so cute!" I told them. I went and sat down next to Annabeth who was wearing the same shoes as me but in blue.

"Hey Carter. How are you?" she asked.

"Good and you?" I asked her.

"Fine. Glad to get away from work for a little bit. Are you excited for the trip?" she asked.

"I'm very excited. This vacation is going to be so much fun." I told her. Then people started to line up to board. We went up and got in line.

"Spencer Bolt, Katarina Bolt, Connor Stoll, Sadria Stoll, Travis Stoll, Katie Stoll, Nico Di Angelo, Thalia Di Angelo..."

"WHAT!" we all screamed.

"Oh yeah we eloped two days ago." Thalia said and Nico smiled. My heart dropped. It's nothing I mean a lot of our friends aren't married yet, it's fine I mean I want to get married but yeah I'll drop it.

"Congrats!" I told them.

"Thanks. So are we ready to go to the Dominican or what?" Thalia said then the rest of us boarded the plane. It was a pretty uneventful plane ride. We got to the hotel and went to our rooms. I started to unpack my bags while Max went out onto the balcony.

"This place is so beautiful." he said.

"Yeah it really I'm going to get ready for dinner." I told him. I straightened my hair which without the curls is pretty long. I put on my red wedges and then put on my multiple bracelets with my stud earrings.

"You look nice." Max said to me.

"Thanks. Ready to go down?" I asked.

"Yeah we are going to meet in the private dining room." he said. I grabbed my red purse and walked down to the dining room with him. It was a long table that was inside an open area with columns serving as the walls. Everyone sat around the table well everyone except Annabeth and Percy. They came down just after us. Annabeth wore a strapless high-low dress with a white top and a coral skirt. She had matching coral jewelry to compliment her dress along with a white purse and white wedges with her hair pulled back into a braided bun. We all sat down for dinner which was delicious. Everyone talked about life and future plans. It was hard though to look at all my married friends because they had something I wanted. I don't just want to get married because I feel the need to have a diamond ring and a big celebration. It's the symbolism behind it, marriage represents long-term commitment a life together. I feel like Max just doesn't want to commit to me. I had to put on a façade that Max and I had the perfect relationship and that everything was fine between us. Percy also seemed a little unhappy. I occasionally meet up with him during the day since he only works part of the year because he is a Yankee's player and I have to do things about three times each week. We have both talked about how we want to get married but Annabeth and Max are married to their jobs. Finally desert came out. It was hidden under a silver platter then set right in front of Piper. Piper took the cover off and gasped.

On it read: _Piper will you marry me?_

Jason took her hand and got down on one knee.

"Piper McClean will you marry me?" Jason asked.

"Yes!" she said then gave him a kiss. We all clapped for them but that made my fight with Max that much worse. I looked at Percy who sat across from me and he looked as if he would strangle someone. I was really happy for them, truly, but that was a knife to my heart. Max sat there quiet while everyone was asking Jason and Piper questions about what they plan to do for their wedding. It was too much for me.

"I think I'll go back to the room. I have a headache so I think I'll lie down but congrats to you Jason and Piper." I said to them then gave Piper and Jason a hug. Percy gave me a look like a 'I know how you feel' look. I walked out and Max came walking after me.

"Carter are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah just a headache they happen. I love you and I'll see you later." I said then gave him a kiss. When I reached the room I could feel a tear running down my face and my vision blurred by the water in my eyes. The hardest part of it all was I don't think Max will change his mind about marriage. As of right now I'm just the girlfriend, nothing more and nothing less.

**So let me know what you all think! Ideas are great so let me know if you have some! Also a huge thanks to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for helping me with this and also she created the outfits for this chapter which are on my profile. Thanks everyone and I love you guys! Please review:)**


	16. Rocking the boat

**Bonjour mes amis! If I messed that up and you're French, sorry. Anyways I need more ideas, I know I'm pretty demanding :) I have a slight writers block so more ideas would help. Also if you want you can PM at anytime I'm a good advice giver :) Thanks everyone! I DON'T OWN PJO!**

Last night pretty much sucked. I mean I'm really happy for my brother and Piper but it was like, why couldn't that be me? I woke up before Max and everyone else, well besides Percy. I walked out of the room and down to the commons area which overlooked the ocean. Percy sat there gazing at the sunrise above the water.

"Morning, can I join you?" I asked him and he looked up the sunrise reflecting in his green eyes.

"Sure." he said then motioned for me to come over. I walked over and sat down next to him.

"I didn't think I would see you up..."

"I couldn't sleep." he said. He did look exhausted.

"Why? Because of last night?" I asked him and he looked out at the water.

"You know how much I love Annabeth and how much she loves me, but..."

"She doesn't want to get married and have kids?" I asked him and he nodded his head.

"It just doesn't make sense. I mean I guess she didn't really have much of a family when she was growing up so maybe its even better to have something for your kids than you didn't have. Despite what she thinks, she is great with kids I mean as a counselor she could calm down every camper." he said.

"I know how you feel. Max tries to avoid all conversation about marriage and the night before we left for the Dominican, we got into a fight." I said.

"I wish I could just...change her mind." Percy said.

"Same. Maybe you could convince Max and I could convince Annabeth." I said jokingly.

"That's not a bad idea." he said.

"Percy I was kidding." I told him.

"It could work." Percy said looking at me.

"Maybe but I don't want to deal with that on this trip. When we get back to Manhattan." I told him.

"Do you ever regret not marrying Alexander?" Percy asked.

"I love Max more than anything in the world. Although sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I did marry Alexander."

"It's so frustrating sometimes watching all of our friends get married and soon will probably start families. That will be the hard part." Percy said.

"It will but one day, hopefully, Max and Annabeth will come around." I said to him.

"Hopefully." he muttered under his breath.

* * *

I walked back into the room where Max was still asleep. I walked over and shook his arm. He turned over but still had his eyes closed.

"Max wake up!" I yelled at him and his eyes shot open.

"Oh hey beautiful." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Morning. I was thinking maybe you and I could go for a run on the beach." I asked him and he smiled.

"Sounds like fun." he said then got up to get ready. I threw on shorts and a tank top then tied my sneakers. Max walked out in his muscle shirt with gym shorts. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and we walked out of the hotel room. We went down to the beach and jogged side by side. I know what most of you are thinking, 'why are you running on the beach if you're a daughter of Zeus?'. I get it. Since I grew up next to the ocean/sea my whole life, I have a connection to it. Sure now knowing that it's Poseidon's territory and I'm a daughter of Zeus I watch out. Swimming in the ocean has always scared me, looking at it reminds me of my home. Max would try to impress me by running way ahead and asking if I would hurry up. Of course I would catch up to him and he would smile.

"You don't need to impress me. I'm already your girlfriend." I told him.

"Just like to know I still got it." he said smiling. I just rolled my eyes. He took off again but this time he tripped in the sand and fell face-first. I literally laughed my ass off.

"Oh yeah you still got it!" I yelled to him.

"Shut up!" he yelled than ran after me. He picked my up and spun me around then we both fell into the sand.

"Why do I stay with you?" I asked him. He rolled over and looked at me then smiled.

"Because you're impressed by guys who fall face-first into the sand." he said then I laughed. He grabbed my hand and we stood up.

"There is something so irresistible about that." I told him then he gave me a kiss. We ran back to the hotel. Our friends sat around the dining room table eating breakfast and talking.

"Oh there you two are. We thought you had too much fun last night and slept in." Leo said smiling.

"Funny. I think we're are not the ones you need to worry about. The newlyweds however..." I said smiling.

"You better stop right now." Thalia said.

"Moving on. I rented a boat for the day. So everyone grab your swimsuits and meet me by the pier in thirty minutes." Percy said.

* * *

I went into the room and got on my suit. It was a strapless red bandeau top with red bottoms that tied on the sides. I put on my Tory Burch earrings and my matching bracelet then my white 3/4 sleeve cover-up. I slipped on my red 6 inch heel wedge shoes which I bought yesterday. Max was sitting on the bed in his red swim trunks, oh no we're that couple.

"Aren't you a little overdressed for a boat ride?" Max asked.

"No I'm not! Max I'm wearing a swimsuit and a cover up."

"With what five-inch heels?" he asked.

"No they're 6 inches but that doesn't matter."

"Are they new?"

"Yeah I got them yesterday they were on sale." I told him doing my model turn in my shoes.

"On sale?"

"Yeah for $760 they were originally $810." I told him and his jaw dropped.

"You have too much money." he said.

"I donate a lot to charity. Plus these shoes were really cute. Now I'm closer to your height!" I told him.

"You're short by like three inches." he said looking at me and smiling.

"Don't ruin it for me." I told him. We walked out and met up with everyone else. Annabeth was wearing a lace romper with turquoise wedges. Sadria, Kat and Katie all had wedge heels on.

"See I'm not the only one." I told Max and he just mouthed 'whatever.' We got on the boat which was very nice I might add. Most of the girls went and sun bathed while the guys talked and listened to music.

"So how's married life?" I asked Kat, Sadria, Katie and Thalia.

"I've never been happier in my whole life!" Kat said with wide eyes.

"Honestly it's been wonderful. I'm really happy to be married to Connor because he makes me so happy and we love each other very much!" Sadria said.

"I would have to say the same thing. I love being married and Travis and I have talked about having a baby in the next couple of years!" Katie said.

"I don't feel too different. I mean being married is great but it didn't change much in our relationship. We still act the same it's just more permanent." Thalia said.

All of their rings shined bright under the sun. All of them smiled and beamed when talking about getting married. Piper was looking down at her new ring and smiled.

"Hey girls lunch is ready!" Percy yelled. I threw my cover up on and my shoes and walked over. Max sat right next to me at the table. We had bowls of tropical fruit, salad and multiple types of sandwiches. It was so delicious.

"So Piper and Jason, given any thought to the wedding?" Sadria asked.

"Not really except we want to get married in the summer." Piper said while looking at Jason.

"We have some time to think about it." Jason said and kissed Piper's forehead.

"So when are all of you getting married?" Kat asked Percy, Annabeth, Max and I.

"At some point hopefully." Percy said.

"Yeah one day just not right now." Annabeth said.

"What about you two?" Kat asked Max and I.

"Kat you..." Spencer started to say.

"It's fine. Maybe soon I hope." I said then looked at Max.

"No we aren't getting married soon Carter." Max said. Everyone looked down at their plates.

"Not soon or not ever?" I asked Max.

"I don't know right now but not anytime in the next couple of years." Max said. It really hurt a lot not just to say it to me but in front of everyone.

"I'm starting to feel a little seasick, do any of you mind taking me in early?" I asked them.

"Sure." Percy said. I walked over to another part on the boat and laid down.

"Max you're such an idiot sometimes." Clarisse said.

"I was just telling the truth." Max said.

"Why don't we move on to a new subject?" Annabeth asked.

* * *

After we got in to the pier I went to my room. I took my hair out of the bun and let it fall on my shoulders then fell into the bed. I heard a knock on the door expecting it to be Max, but instead it was Clarisse.

"Do you mind if I come in?" she asked.

"Sure come in." I told her and we sat on my bed.

"Look we didn't mean to make you feel bad and..."

"You didn't ,none of you did. I don't want you feeling sorry for me just because you're getting married and I'm not." I told her.

"Max doesn't know what he has. My brother is just an idiot sometimes." Clarisse said.

"He was just telling the truth." I told her.

"I'm sorry this hasn't been a great vacation for you with all the drama." she said.

"No this vacation has been fun. It just made me realize more about what I want in the future."

"Are you still going to be my maid-of-honor?" she asked.

"Of course I am. Thanks for coming in here." I told Clarisse.

"Anytime. Just don't tell my dad I have a soft-side. It will ruin my reputation." she said.

"I won't." I told her. She left and I stayed in my room. Max came in the room and laid down on the bed with me.

"Carter look I know things didn't go well on the boat..."

"Max I don't want to hear it. I just want to enjoy the rest of my vacation, ok?" I asked him.

"Ok I love you." he told me.

"I love you too." I said to him. I feel like Max and I are drifting farther and farther apart as the days go by.

**Let me know what you all thought by reviewing! Give me ideas if you have any. Thank you to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for helping me with this chapter! I love you all and thanks! Also check out the boat outfits on my profile!**


	17. Shopping in the Dominican

**Hello my friends! Happy late St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully you all are doing well! Ready for the repeated message again? I need ideas! Any ideas are great! I will give you credit of I use them! Sorry I haven't updated in a while I have been sick/writer's block! I'm sorry and don't hate me I hope you all understand because you all mean the world to me :) Thanks everyone for understanding! I don't own PJO! **

I woke up the next morning to meet up with the girls. All of us were going shopping then to lunch. Max was already up since he went for a run with Percy.

"Morning beautiful." he said then came over and gave me a kiss.

"Morning. I need to get ready to meet the girls..." I said.

"Oh um all the guys are going into town today too so maybe I'll see you there." he said

"Why would you all go into town?" I asked him.

"Maybe because I was going to buy somethings. Why else would I go into town?"

"I don't know. I need to get ready though!" I told him then walked over to the closet and pulled down one of my dresses. It was a coral colored lace dress. I slipped it on then walked over and grabbed my jewelry. I put on my white pearl earrings with a chunky white pearl necklace. I went into the bathroom and pulled my mane of black curls into a neat, sophisticated bun. My whole look was very sophisticated compared to what most girls would wear shopping but that's how I was raised. I slipped on my white wedge sandals then grabbed my white and gray checkered bag. I walked over and Max looked at me.

"Honestly I swear you don't know how to dress like an American." he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Most girls would put shorts and a tank top on but no you have to put expensive pearls and a lace dress and a designer bag." he said with a smile.

"Sorry when you're setting an example for the Greek Royal family there is some pressure." I told him then gave him a kiss.

"Whatever I'll see you later." he told me. I walked out to the courtyard and met up with the girls who I might add were just as dressed up as me. Annabeth had on a Aztec inspired high-low dress with black wedges with her natural blonde curls falling down on her shoulders. We all walked and got one of those van taxis to take us to town. When we got there, we walked down the streets looking at unique kiosks with vibrant colored items then into random boutiques. I found a bunch of beautiful sundresses and sandals along with many other items. Also I went into a store and bought a really cool bowl, cup and plate set for Chris and Clarisse's wedding gift. Sadria bought a bunch of fabric to try to get ready for New York fashion week in February of next year. After shopping for a long time, we went to have lunch in a local restaurant. We all got margaritas and sat around the table talking.

"So Sadria you're trying to branch out in your fashion career?" I asked her. She always carried a sketch book with her, just in case an idea came to her. She had her sketch book balancing against her lap and she held her pencil in her hand sketching.

"Oh sorry, an idea came to me for a getaway line. As much as I love working for Christian Louboutin, I want to start my career as a designer. As of right now I don't think I'm going to specialize in something I will just have multiple categories." she said.

"Nice. What would be the ideal thing for you to design?" I asked her.

"Hmm probably formal wear." she said.

"Maybe a wedding dress?" Piper asked with a smile.

"I think I would be up for the challenge." Sadria said.

"Great!" Piper said.

"Having your dress designed is more personal." I said to Piper.

"Yeah and I don't want to try on a bunch of dresses." she said.

"So have you planned anything yet?" Hazel asked.

"We know for sure we are getting married next June but we don't know anything else. I haven't put much thought towards my wedding." Piper said.

"Yeah it took me a while to plan my wedding. Once I got the colors then everything fell into place." Clarisse said.

"Annabeth I don't get why you don't want to get married." Sadria told Annabeth.

"It's not that I don't want to get married, it's just everything that comes with it." she said.

"Like?" Sadria asked.

"Percy wants kids and I don't." she said. I don't want to say I'm mad at Annabeth, but I'm jealous. I love Max with all my heart but he doesn't want kids and doesn't want to get married. Annabeth has Percy who wants all the same things I want.

"Why don't you want kids?" I asked her.

"Because I never really had a family growing up. Also it would probably be dangerous if we had kids. A big three child and me having a kid. Yeah the monsters would be after us." she said.

"Annabeth you're over thinking everything." I told her.

"I'm not over thinking anything. Anyway any progress with you and Max?" she asked changing the subject.

"No progress with changing his mind. I don't understand why he wouldn't want to get married or start a family. Clarisse is there any reason that he doesn't want to get married like a bad memory?" I asked her.

"Nothing that comes to mind. Josh and my mom got married when we were five and they have stayed happily married. We have been a close family too. I don't see why he doesn't want to unless my mother is changing his mind." Clarisse said.

"You think your mother has something to do with his thoughts?" I asked her.

"Well it wouldn't shock me. She doesn't like you and she is pushing Max to be with Emma." Clarisse said.

"Why Emma and not me?" I asked her. I don't get why Emma is so much better than me in Mrs. La Rue's eyes. I love her son, I'm kind to her, I help around the house and I make her son happy. Why doesn't she like me?

"My mom has known Emma since she was a little girl. My mom probably wants Max to move back to Aimesly and she feels like you are the one keeping him from returning to Arizona, and if he were with Emma, he would stay in Arizona." she said.

"I am not keeping him away from Arizona, he chooses to be away from there." I told her.

"I know that but my mother doesn't. Just ignore her." she said.

"Yeah I will try." I told her. I looked over at Kat who sat moving the food on her plate around with her fork.

"Kat you ok?" Sadria asked her.

"Yeah I'm just not very hungry." she said.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" Piper asked her.

"Maybe I should lay down. Do you all mind because I can go back on my own." Kat said.

"Kat we can go back with you." I told her.

"No none of you need to be with me at the hotel. Continue shopping!" she said.

"I'm done." Clarisse said.

"I second that." Thalia said.

"I third that." Piper said.

"I just don't want to shop any longer." Hazel said.

"I could still go shopping if you want to Carter and Sadria." Annabeth said.

"Sorry I have to finish these designs so I will see you two back at the hotel." Sadria said.

"I could still shop." I told Annabeth and she nodded. While the rest of the girls went back to the hotel, Annabeth and I went shopping some more. We walked around and I got my mother a gorgeous necklace and earring set for her birthday.

"Do you want to go get a drink?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure." I told her. I really don't want to have a drink but the alcohol idea made my brain say yes. The last time I was truly in major danger was when I overdosed on pills and had too much to drink when I was almost seventeen. Since then I have been pretty good with my consumption. We walked over to a bar and sat down on the stools. It was one of the outdoor bars that looked like a tiki hut. As we were sipping our drinks, two guys walked over.

"Hello ladies." they said and each of them sat on either side of Annabeth and I.

"Can I help you?" I asked the one guy.

"Yeah how about giving me your number gorgeous." he said then wrapped his arm around my waist. I looked at Annabeth who was giving the other guy a glare.

"Why would you need my number?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Maybe you two could come over to our hotel room..."

"Stop right there." I told him.

"We're both taken." Annabeth said then she smiled at me. I could tell what she was thinking.

"Yep sorry but we're in a relationship..."

"With each other." Annabeth said and we bot smiled.

"Oh well um bye then." they said then walked away.

"That made them go away." I told Annabeth.

"Make them feel awkward. That is one way to get rid of them. Plus the looks on their faces were priceless." Annabeth said and we both laughed.

* * *

We had made it back to the hotel and went up to our rooms. I walked in to see Max shirtless with a pair of jeans on.

"Hey." I told him and he turned around.

"Oh hey beautiful." he said. I walked over to him and he wrapped his arms around my waist. His chest was wet but warm. He smelled like salt and his black hair was damp. He smiled at me.

"Did you go for a swim?" I asked him.

"Yeah Percy and I just got back from the beach. Spencer went to check on Kat and the other guys went to be with the girls." he said.

"That's nice." I said. His tattoo seemed to stand out against his tan skin. the water droplets emphasized the gold outlining on the red laurel band.

"Yeah it was refreshing. Did you and Annabeth have fun in town?" he asked.

"We did. We went to some boutiques and looked around. I got some new clothes and jewelry. Oh and I got Clarisse and Chris's wedding gift."

"What did you get them?" he asked.

"I got them a multicolored tray with different colored bowls, plates and cups. Clarisse was telling me how she and Chris were looking at new apartments and I thought it would be nice for their new home."

"I got them a really cool designed last name picture where the letters are photos of random things then surrounded by a bunch of pictures of the two of them."

"That's artsy. I must be rubbing off on you." I said and he laughed.

"Yeah I think you have." he started examining my face.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him.

"No but I think I like your hair better down." he said.

"You do?" I asked him.

"Yes I do. I mean your beautiful either way but when your hair is down you look more laid back like a more natural way." he said. I grabbed the band and let my curls fall down on my shoulders. He pulled me in for a kiss.

"You should probably finish getting ready. We're having dinner in fifteen minutes." I told him.

"Yeah I probably should."

* * *

Max and I walked down to dinner. Everyone sat around the table talking. We sat down and talked with everyone. One of the female staff members look and smiled at Leo.

"She seems nice." I said looking at Leo.

"Yeah she does but I'm seeing someone." he said. Everyone turned their heads and looked at him.

"Who?" I asked smiling.

"A woman. She lives in California and unless it gets really serious, that is all I'm telling you." he said.

"You're no fun." I said and he laughed.

We ate dinner and then had dessert. Everyone talked about their jobs and all the crazy things that happen. Connor had to defend a man who ran around Manhattan in a G-string, a really obese man I might add in his late fifties. Thalia talked about her job as a kindergarten teacher. She told us about all the crazy things the kids say. Max and Nico talked about the hospital stories which Max often tells me. Those are by far the craziest. I looked over to see Kat and Spencer whispering something to each other.

"We have something to share with all of you." Spencer said.

"I'm pregnant!" Kat said beaming.

We all congratulated them and gave both of them hugs. I'm going to be an aunt! This is so exciting. I looked over at Max who was quiet during the whole thing. I bet he was thinking he would never have to announce we were having a baby. My hopes are, once he sees just how happy Kat and Spencer are as parents. Maybe he will want to settle down, get married and have kids. Just a thought. He looked over at me and I smiled. I rested my head on his shoulder and he grabbed my hand and held it tight. It seems like everyone is moving forward in their lives, everyone except us.

**What did you all think? Please review and let me know :) I tried with this chapter its hard having a writer's block. Thanks everyone for staying with me and being amazing even when I don't update in a while. Thanks to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for the ideas! Let me know if you have ideas! I love you all and thanks :)**


	18. Unwanted suprises

**Happy Easter my lovely readers! Or I guess now April Fool's day! So hope all of you are being amazing! I have this week off so hopefully I can update more! If you have any ideas floating around, I will take them from you. I love all of you and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I don't own PJO!**

Max and I sat on our couch eating pizza. We always ordered pizza on the nights before we went on a trip. Tomorrow we were going to fly to Arizona for Clarisse and Chris's wedding. Max grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels. He stopped on a channel but just as the show ended, an engagement ring commercial. I looked over at Max who got up and walked over to the fridge and grabbed a Coke. Anytime a wedding related commercial comes on, he goes and does something else until it's over. He walked back over and sat down.

"We should probably start packing." I told him.

"Yeah we should." He said then turned off the t.v. We walked upstairs to the loft and grabbed our suitcases.

"Are you excited for your sister?" I asked him.

"Yeah I'm really excited for her. Chris is a nice guy and he really cares about her. It will be nice to see my mom and Josh and the rest of the family." he said.

"Do you think your dad will come?" I asked and he glanced at me.

"Clarisse has always been one of my dad's favorite kids so I think he will go to her wedding." he said.

"That would be nice if he attended." I said to him. I grabbed a stack full of sundresses and threw them in my bag.

"Going back to Aimesly will be so nice." Max said.

"It's a nice little town. The downside is I have to face Emma and your mother." I said.

"You're growing on my mom. I think she is starting to like you." he said.

"Max, we have been dating for seven years and just now she is liking me?" I asked him.

"Please try to get along with my mom. It means a lot to me when you do." he said then walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I'll try." I said then he gave me a kiss. We finished packing and fell into bed.

* * *

We woke up and went to the airport. After flying, we arrived in Arizona. We drove to the house and were greeted by Mrs. La Rue and Josh. Mrs. La Rue hugged everyone of the girls then looked at me. She gave me a glare then smiled at the others.

"I made a huge lunch for y'all. Eat up!" she said. We walked in the house which looked the same as the last time I was here. The table was covered in plates of food from fried chicken to Mashed potatoes to a bowl of strawberries. We sat down and ate around the living room. Clarisse went over last-minute preparations for the wedding in two days. It is interesting, at least to me, how much Clarisse has changed. The first time I ever met her she was an extreme tomboy, tough girl who hated almost everything and would die if she was spotted wearing a dress. Now she still has a tomboy attitude but it blends in with her more feminine attitude. She beams whenever she talks about her wedding and is actually one of my best friends.

"Being here reminds me of Texas." Leo said.

"Did you come from a small town?" I asked him.

"Yeah I did right after I jumped the Mexican border." Leo said.

"What?" Mrs. La Rue asked in shock.

"It's a joke." Leo said. "I'm sure Chris gets that a lot too." Leo smiled at Chris who was laughing.

"Ah being immigrants." Chris said jokingly.

"Frank and Carter you should join our group." Leo said.

"I'm just from Canada that's not that far away." Frank said.

"Neither is Mexico and we still get shit from that and we weren't even born in Mexico, just to Mexican parents. I guess the only illegal immigrant here is Carter."

"Excuse me?" I asked him.

"Well you come from Greece." Leo said.

"I took that damn citizenship test and I passed making me legal to live in this country." I said.

"That's what they all say." Leo said.

"Shut up Leo Valdez." I told him.

"You should too Demitra blah blah blah blah blah Spiros. Damn your legal documents must have at least two lines for your name." Leo said.

"It's long but I'm the only child so I have to carry on the names." I said.

"Why do you have three last names?" Leo asked.

"I don't know!" I said to him. My friends like to poke fun at my long name. Oh my gosh if I ever marry Max, I think I will have the longest name ever. Demitra Artemis Apalla Athene Diana Selene Drakos-Spiros-Villa- La Rue. I really need to shorten my name. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Will somebody answer that?" Mrs. La Rue yelled from the kitchen.

"I'll get it." Max said then got up. Who was it? None other than the wicked bitch of the west Emma.

"Max its so nice to see you!" She said then gave him a kiss on the cheek. Everyone looked over at me.

"Don't worry, I'll kill that bitch later." I said.

"I'll help." Clarisse said.

"Really?"

"I never liked her. Sadly my mother invited her to the wedding." Clarisse said then Chris gave her a kiss on the head.

"She is just one person. It won't be that bad." Chris said.

"She looks nice." Hazel said.

"Yeah so does a lion cub until it pounces and kills you." I said.

"Emma dear come here and give me a hug!" Mrs. La Rue said to Emma who walked over and greeted her.

"It's so nice to see you Mrs. La Rue! Clarisse I'm so happy for your wedding in two days!" Emma said then walked over to give Clarisse a hug.

"Thanks." Clarisse said half-heartedly.

"Oh for everyone else I'm Emma." Everyone said hi to her. Emma glanced and spotted me. She gave me a glare.

"Carter." she said.

"Bitch." I said then Max gave me a look. "I mean Emma its so nice to see you again." I said.

"Tension." Leo said. Emma looked at me once more.

"So how many of you are already married?" Emma asked.

"We are and we are expecting a baby." Kat said and Spencer grabbed her hand.

"Oh that's so sweet!" Emma said.

"We are too." Sadria said leaning against Connor's shoulder.

"So are we." Thalia said.

"Nice!" she said.

"We are getting married next June." Piper said and Jason smiled. Emma looked at Max and I then looked down at my hand and smiled.

"No engagement for you two?" Emma asked Max who blushed.

"No." Max said.

"Oh that's shocking." Emma said.

"Why? Because we have been together for seven years?" I asked her.

"No. Because Max was saying how excited he was to grow up and get married." Emma said. "Well at least that's what he told me when we were together." Max grabbed my hand and looked at me.

"Is that true?" I asked Max. If he said yes it would really hurt. That means he wants to get married, just not to me.

"Carter... I just..."

"Or at least that's what he told me when he asked me to elope with him in Las Vegas." Emma said. My heart sank. I looked at Max who just stared at the floor. My friends looked at me with shocked expressions. I was about ready to strangle Emma. All of this hurt because I could tell from Max's expressions that Emma was telling the truth. I didn't want this to ruin Clarisse and Chris's happy weekend. I got up and looked at Emma who had a smirk on her face.

"Emma you're a fucking bitch." I said to her.

"Go Carter!" Thalia said. Nico looked at her with a did-you-really-just-say-that? look. "Carter isn't wrong." I looked at Emma one more time then walked out the door. I could have gone farther but I tried to turn the other cheek. I walked out and felt tears forming in my eyes. Max followed me outside.

"Carter I'm sorry I was going to tell you..."

"Why would you want to marry her after one year but not want to marry me after seven years?" I asked him.

"Carter I was young and stupid. I wasn't thinking through my decision but I called it off." he said.

"Am I not good enough for you to marry? Is that it?" I asked him.

"Carter I love you. You're amazing and you would make an amazing wife." he said.

"Then why don't you want to marry me?"

"Carter there is so much more to this and I would rather not discuss it on this trip. Can we please just leave it all behind until we get back to Manhattan because I don't want to ruin my sister's weekend." he said.

"Fine Max. We can leave it behind. I'm going to stay out here for a little bit." I told him. He walked over and gave me a kiss.

"Carter you know you are the one I love not Emma. I'm madly in love with you." he said then wiped a tear from my face.

"I love you too. I just need some time to cool down." I told him.

"Ok just come in whenever." he said. I think Max and I are hitting the breaking point of this relationship. I don't know how many of these fights I can take. One day if this just continues, I'm moving on.

**What did you all think? Hopefully good things :) If you have ideas just throw them out there no matter how crazy, weird, sad whatever! Also if you have a tumblr you should follow me! My name on there is irishgreekgirl as well. I love you guys and please REVIEW!**


	19. Decorating disaster

**Hello my lovely readers! So hope you enjoyed the last drama-filled chapter :) I was really bored so on my profile I made a list of all the characters with a picture of what they look like or a description if I couldn't find a good picture. I love it if you checked it out :) So enjoy this chapter, if you have ideas I need them, and I love you all! I don't own PJO!**

Yesterday was difficult. After my fight with Max, the rest of the night was awkward. I received glares from Emma and Mrs. La Rue and my friends could sense everything was not ok. I brushed off any questions and moved on with the night. Today hopefully would be better. I, along with everyone else, was going to set up the wedding decorations. We drove down there and reached the place where the ceremony was being held. Do you want to know the worst part, or can you guess what I'm about to say? It was me, Max and Emma. Everyone else was going to help get the reception decorations and help run errands for the wedding. Mrs. La Rue insisted that Emma come with Max and I after all of my friends offered to go in her place. Even Kat offered to go in her place and she is pregnant and throws up quite often from her morning sickness. We got out of the truck and grabbed the boxes of decorations from the back. They had a bunch of mason jars with ribbons ties around them to hang in the trees as lanterns. They all had yellow and white candles in them. Emma and I alternated handing Max a lantern to hang in the trees.

"Max doesn't this remind you of your parent's wedding?" Emma asked Max.

"Yeah it does. I think that is where Clarisse and Chris got their inspiration from." Max said hanging a lantern.

"Oh your parents got married here?" I asked Max.

"Yeah they did. This is where all the Aimesly weddings are held. My parents got married here and Emma's parents got married here. I remember when my mom and Josh got married here. They had lanterns like this and we all danced throughout the night." Max said.

"That was so much fun. Max do you miss living here?" Emma asked.

"I do miss living here a little bit. I will always love Aimesly but I love Manhattan too. I mean I can't really be a doctor here and it's just too small of a town." Max said looking at Emma.

"Oh. I love Aimesly. It's so protected and everyone knows everyone. Everyone I care about is here, well everyone but you." she said. I rolled my eyes and handed Max, who was blushing a little bit, a lantern. Why was he blushing? Usually you don't blush unless you have feelings for that person. It almost felt like Max forgot I was here and that he was still a small town guy who was seventeen again and that Emma was his girlfriend. Maybe I was overreacting but it was hard not to. It's hard having to see Max around Emma. They had a long history together and as much as I hate to admit this, but they also shared a lot of the same dreams and interests. Also Emma was at an advantage by being favored by Mrs. La Rue. Max was a mommas boy and listened to his mom about everything. That's one reason I think he is holding off marrying me. Emma was flirting with Max and he wasn't ignoring it. Perhaps he is oblivious to it, but I think for the most part he notices it and enjoys the attention. I glanced down at the box of lanterns in which there were only two more left. The remaining ones were at the house. I needed to talk to Max so I turned to Emma.

"Emma, do you mind getting the rest of the lanterns? I will help Max hang the rest." I asked her. She glared at me then with a semi-smile she grabbed the box.

"Sure I'll get the rest." she said then walked over to Max's truck. She got in the truck and drove back towards the house. I turned to face Max who was coming down from the latter.

"What is going on between you and Emma?" I asked him.

"Nothing. You think something is going on?" he asked me with a puzzled expression on his face.

"That's why I asked you in the first place."

"Don't be a smart ass."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't mean that Carter I'm sorry. Nothing is going on between Emma and I. She asked me some questions and I answered them. You're acting really jealous right now." he said.

"Can you blame me? Emma shares a history with you and shares memories with you. Your mother adores her and hates me. Yes I am jealous of her because you are a lot alike and have the same interests and past experiences. I come from a palace and I have visited some small towns and I never had a childhood friend. My friends were the people who worked for me. Max I just feel like I have to compete with Emma for your attention." I said to him.

"Carter I have told you this countless times but I don't love Emma. I did love her and yes I did ask her to marry me but that's because I didn't think I would ever leave this town. I thought I would stay here and take over the family business. I want to be with you and only you. I love it here in Aimesly but there is a reason I left. I'm not going to say I don't like Emma because I do, but as a long time friend. I don't see myself spending the rest of my life with her. I do sometimes ponder at the thought of my future with you. Ignore Emma as much as you can. I love you Carter Spiros and that isn't going to change." he said then gave me a hug then a kiss.

"Sorry I suppose I can get a little jealous. I love you and I don't want to have you taken from me." I said and he pulled me in for a hug.

"I'm not going anywhere." he said.

* * *

After finishing hanging up decorations, we returned to the house. Emma headed back to her place while Max went into the house to start making dinner, ribs. I am going to help make some non-meat items though. Everyone else was still finishing reception decorating so it was just Max and I. I went out to grab the mail from the mailbox, when I saw a car drive up with a familiar face.

"Fannie Lou!" I shouted and walked over and gave her a hug.

"Carter I'm so happy to see you dear. Its been way too long." she said. Along with Josh, Max's grandma was the only other family member to accept Max and my relationship. We walked over to the front step and sat down.

"You just get more and more beautiful each time I see you. Such a young and happy face." she said.

"Thanks that made my day thank you." I said to her and she smiled.

"Where is Maximus?" she asked.

"In the kitchen making dinner." I said to her.

"He is cooking?" she asked with a shocked expression.

"Yeah he is preparing the meat products. I'm going to help make the rest." I said to her.

"Honey you seem a little down. What's wrong?" she asked sympathetically.

"Well today has just been...well not the best." I said looking down at the grass.

"Why dear?"

"Today Max and I were going to set up decorations where the ceremony is being held while everyone else went to help set up the reception area. One problem, Emma came with Max and I. She was flirting with him and he wasn't stopping her and it seemed like he was flirting back. I guess I'm just jealous." I said to her and tried to calm myself down.

"Oh we have a word for girls like that." she said.

"What?" I asked her. She looked me straight in the eye.

"A bitch." she said and I was shocked. I never thought I would hear her say that.

"Yeah she is one. It's not just her. I have been getting in more arguments with Max about our future together and how he doesn't want to marry me or have children. It bothered me more because I found out that when Max was seventeen, he asked Emma to elope with him in Las Vegas and he told me that he has never wanted to get married. I feel like it's not marriage he is worried about, its marrying me." I said to her and she brushed the hair out of my face.

"Darling, I know how you feel. I was in the same position as you. The man I loved hadn't asked me to marry him and it seemed he didn't want to have any kids. Finally I confronted him about it and it turned out he was nervous that he wouldn't be a good father or husband. I ended up marrying him at eighteen and we had Mary Anne a year later." she said.

"Maybe there is hope. I think he would make an amazing father. I have seen him around kids and they adore him. No offense to you but I think your daughter is pushing him to not marry me." I said and she laughed.

"Yes she does have something against you, but I don't know what. She is stubborn also. She gets it from her father and must have passed it down to Maximus. She turned down Josh's proposal the first time. I asked her why and she said she didn't think marrying Josh would be best for her children. She was young when she got pregnant and she was a single mom for a while. I told her that if Josh was asking you to marry him then that meant he cared about you and your children. Finally she accepted and she has been happy since. Maximus might just be wanting to take his time and might be saving up for a beautiful ring." she said and I smiled.

"Hopefully he comes around. Thanks for the support." I said to her.

"Anytime dear. I really hope Maximus gets his act together. Having you apart of the family would be wonderful." she said then walked inside the house.

Once Max sees how happy Clarisse and Chris are with their wedding and how happy Kat and Spencer are as parents, maybe he will come around. I can picture Max and I driving up to this house with our kids in the back seat waiting to see their grandparents. I could see them running around in the grass across the street and Max spinning them around in his arms. I can't imagine my life without Max. As much as I want to move on sometimes and find someone who shares the same dreams as me, I'm too much in love with Max. My life wouldn't be complete without him. I have never been more in love with anyone else in my life. Sometimes you have to go through hell before you reach a heaven.

**Like the chapter? You should let me know with your reviews :) Also ideas are always welcome (I'm desperate). Check out my profile! Love you all and thanks for reading my story! Oh and if you want an amazing blog to follow, follow me at irishgreekgirl on tumblr! Thanks everyone :)**


	20. Small Town Wedding

**Hello my readers! Did you like the drama? Check out the pictures for Clarisse and Chris's wedding on my profile! I'm a visual reader meaning that when I read something I try to find things online that fit the description. That's why I made all of the wedding stuff. If you have ideas that you aren't going to use, I will take them! Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

I woke up next to Max with the sun shining down on our faces. Today was so beautiful and perfect for Clarisse and Chris's wedding. Being maid of honor, I had to be by Clarisse's side every moment leading up to the ceremony helping with last minute details and to help her get ready. Obviously the rest of the girls were going to help as well. Everyone else stayed at a bed-and-breakfast home about 2 miles away from the house. Max, along with the rest of the guys, were going to head to the rib shack to hang out while the girls stayed at the house and got ready. Max got ready quick and gave me a kiss then left with Chris. I ran my fingers through my curly hair then walked to Clarisse's room. She had her short brown hair pulled into a small ponytail and was making the bed. Clarisse is one of those girls who went from an ugly duckling to a swan. When we were in high school, her hair was always choppy, not like Piper's were it looked nice, but mangled and she never seemed to care about her appearance. Now she has beautiful hair and her facial features have formed into a beautiful face. Not only did she become more beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well.

"Good morning! How is the soon-to-be Mrs. Rodriguez?" I asked her and she smiled.

"I got a full sleep even with all my nerves but im really excited." she said with a wide smile. I walked over and we sat on her bed.

"I think your love story with Chris is so cute. He wouldn't be here without you." I told her.

"Thanks. Carter I'm really glad your my maid of honor." she said with a grin.

"Well I'm honored you asked me."

"I know we haven't always got along and you still remained my friend after all these years. When you and Max get married, I know you will probably choose Thalia and Annabeth to be your maids of honor well Thalia will be your matron and depending on Annabeth's status she could be either but I hope I can be apart of the wedding." she said.

"If Max actually gets his act together, you will for sure be in our wedding no doubt. You will hopefully be my sister-in-law but even if I don't marry Max and we decide to go our separate ways, I want you to still be in my wedding." I told her.

"Thanks Carter. I don't usually show emotion and this is very rare for me but I think I might start to cry." she said. A tear started to run down her cheek and I gave her a hug.

"I won't tell anyone." I said to her.

"I think I have only cried a handful of times in my life. I truly take on the Ares traits. Max however, he doesn't cry much but he still cries more than me. The only time I have truly seen him so upset was over you." she said.

"Really?" I asked her.

"When you broke up with him and told him that you were going to marry Alexander, yeah he was an emotional wreck. He really cares about you and I hope that one day you will be able to join the La Rue family. Ignore my mother, she hasn't realized that you aren't a rich snobby princess." she said and we laughed.

"Thanks Clarisse. So have you and Chris discussed having a family?" I asked her.

"Oh we definitely want at least one child if not more. I don't get it, I'm not the soft child but yet I'm the one who is getting married first and wants kids while my affectionate brother doesn't want either of it. He will come around eventually." she said. We talked a little longer as the girls came to meet with us. We all went to the living room and had a bunch of small pastries that Mrs. La Rue and Fannie Lou made. I looked over at Kat who seemed to be upset.

"Kat you alright?" I asked her.

"No. I'm sorry Clarisse I don't want to ruin your day so I'll just calm down." Kat said.

"Kat if something is wrong let it out. I'm a perfect example how bottling up emotions can make you explode sometimes." Clarisse said.

"I'm going to be a terrible mother!" she said and tears started to run down her tan cheeks.

"Kat why would you say that? You're sweet and loving, you will make a great mom." I said to her.

"Yeah Kat I've seen you around little kids and they adore you." Sadria said.

"Sadria I'm not smart like you. My kid won't be able to ask me any homework questions because I barely passed high school and I went to beauty school. You and Percy are both intelligent and successful at your jobs. I'm a trophy wife!" she said.

"Kat let's be real, Percy plays professional baseball that doesn't take much skill, no offense Annabeth." Sadria said.

"No offense taken. Kat you will be a great mom. So your not the best at at school, but that doesn't mean you're not going to be a bad mother. You are loving and you respond well to children. Don't worry Kat, you will make a great mom and we will all be here for you." Annabeth said and we nodded in agreement.

"Girls, you should all probably start getting ready." Fannie Lou said.

Kat curled Clarisse's hair into a 1920's style look. Clarisse look beautiful like that. All the bridesmaids left their hair down. Annabeth left her natural beach curls, Sadria left her natural curls, I left my natural curls as well. We straightened Thalia's short black hair and we also straightened Piper's hair. Hazel's hair was also natural and looked stunning that way. Katie Stoll also was a bridesmaid and helped with getting the flowers ready. Clarisse's dress was simple, but elegant. It was a strapless, chiffon dress that went all the way down to the floor and had a yellow sash tied around her waist. To go with her sash and the color theme, Clarisse had on yellow open-toe heels and a sunflower in her hair. As bridesmaids, we wore strapless sweetheart neckline yellow dress that were a little above the knee and had a yellow sash that tie to the side. We all wore a sunflower in our hair to match our sunflower bouquets and to match Clarisse's hair and bouquet of sunflowers and yellow roses.

* * *

It was time go to the ceremony. Mrs. La Rue took Kat, Sadria and Katie in her car while Fannie Lou took Thalia, Annabeth, Hazel and Piper in hers. Clarisse and I rode in the pick-up truck which to give her credit, Clarisse wanted to drive. We drove down to where the ceremony was being held. The whole town was seated. The place was stunning. It was held in an area where there were about twelve trees and green grass. The lanterns were hanging in the tress and there was a white aisle rolled out. The white chairs all had sunflowers on them and the guests all looked so happy. It was cool to see that a whole town gathered for the wedding. Along with the town, I recognized some demigods. mostly the Ares cabin and the Hermes cabin. The guys looked handsome as well. They all were wearing black dress pants with black suspenders and yellow paisley bowties. Chris was handsome with his black dress coat and white dress shirt with a pale yellow tie and a sunflower pinned to his coat. All the girls walked down the aisle beaming and then Clarisse was walked down by Josh. She was gorgeous. Her dress caught the wind beautifully looked if I might say so myself, a goddess. Her eyes were covered through her birdcage veil which also made her look like a 1920's movie star. Chris was stunned by her beauty and was grinning so much. Max looked really happy for her and glanced at me with a smile. I glanced into the sea of guests and spotted Ares. He was wearing a red dress shirt and his leather jacket but also had black dress pants on and for once he had no sunglasses and his usual sockets with fire were replaced by dark red-brown eyes. He remained still but seemed to be happy for his daughter. Hermes was also there to support Chris

The officiant went to talk about the La Rue family and their impact on Aimesly. He also talked about Clarisse and Chris in the time they lived in Aimesly. Then Chris proceeded with his vows.

"Clarisse, as corny as this might sound but I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You saved me from my terrible mental state and believed that even when I was a terrible person, there was still a good person in the core. You stayed by my side and helped me get stronger day by day. We have been through a lot together and you're my best friend. Since I didn't have a family of my own, your family welcomed me in and made me feel complete for once in my life. I love you and I'm so lucky to be with an amazing girl like you." Chris said and Clarisse looked near tears.

"Chris, the day I found you, not what most couples like to hear, but was one of the most depressing days of my life. I had known you for only a short time before but seeing you in so much confusion made me ill to my stomach. I'm glad I was there for you to help you through because it made me fall in love with you. I know I am not the easiest person to get along with but you calm me down and keep me from completely exploding. You're my best friend also and without you I don't know how I could control my temper and be happy in life. I love you and I'm so happy I have you." Clarisse said and she actually did have a tear run down her face. It was so nice to see them together. Their story started out as a lost hope of healing Chris but together they made it through and Chris helped Clarisse with her temper and helped to keep her calm. They were perfect together.

"Now for the exchanging of the rings." the man said and Chris grabbed the ring from Max. "Do you Christopher Quin Rodriguez take Clarisse Anne La Rue as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." Chris said then slipped the ring on Clarisse's finger. She turned around to face me and I handed her the silver band.

"Do you Clarisse Anne La Rue take Christopher Quin Rodriguez to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." she said then slipped the ring on his finger and they both smiled.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Chris lifted the birdcage veil and gave Clarisse a kiss. It was so cute to see them together.

"For the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Rodriguez." we all clapped and cheered for them.

* * *

We drove down to the reception area. It was about the same kind of area as the ceremony was. It was a green grass area with trees surrounding it. Tables were set up with white table cloths and beautiful sunflower centerpieces. Lanterns hung from the branches of the trees. I sat down at the "family table" along with Mrs. La Rue, Josh, Clarisse, Chris, Fannie Lou and Max. At every table there were pitchers of iced tea, lemonade, and water. For the adults there was an option to also have a glass of red wine, white wine or have a beer. I stuck to the iced tea while Max had a beer. Even now the spell of alcohol brings back the I had from the night I almost died of alcohol poisoning, the worst part of it all, I'm more and more tempted each time to have some but I know that sometimes, I can't control myself. The first course came out which consisted of a raspberry vinaigrette salad with a side of corn bread with jam. Next, for the main course, I had a pasta salad with a side of mashed potatoes with gravy and corn on the cob. Everyone else had the same thing but fried chicken or pork instead of pasta salad. The people of Aimesly sure know how to cook. Everything was delicious. Chris and Clarisse walked over and cut their cake. It was a very cute cake with sunflowers at the top then five layers of cake. The top layer was two shades of horizontal yellow stripes, then the next layer had a white background with yellow polka dots then a simple yellow layer then a yellow background with white polka dots and finally white layer with vertical yellow stripes on it. They each cut a piece and shoved in each others faces. Along with the cake, there were multiple fruit pies and more corn bread with honey and jam. I had a little bit of the cake which was chocolate and then a slice of the blueberry pie. I have never tasted a better pie in my life! It was amazing!

After talking for a while with my friends and some of the people of Aimesly, it was time for everyone to dance. Chris pulled Clarisse out into the middle of the grassy area. They had a stereo for all the music and the song "Because you Loved Me," by Celine Dion came on. As cheesy as the song may be, it fit them perfectly. It talked about being there for one another and not giving up hope in the worst times. When Clarisse never gave up hope that Chris would get better, that moment fits the song perfectly. After they finished dancing, Max grabbed my hand and pulled me out for a dance. The song "Hey Soul Sister," by Train came on. We danced to it and it was so much fun. Being with Max was perfect right now. I had so much fun that I forgot all about the fight Max and I had or all my other problems. A slow song came on and I rested my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist and it was perfect. Those were the moments I wouldn't trade for anything else. Just then Emma came over. She was wearing a rather slutty tight pink dress that showed a little too much cleavage I might add.

"Hey Max, I have one dance?" she asked him then shot me a glare. He turned to face me and I motioned for him to go. He mouthed "only one dance" then walked off. Leo came over and stood next to me.

"Max go off with that slut?" Leo asked. This is why he is one of my best friends.

"Yeah but its only for one dance. Would you like to dance with me? Or will your girlfriend get mad if she finds out." I asked him.

"She would be fine with it considering you're just one of my close friends." he said then grabbed my hand.

"When do we get to meet this girl and how long have you been dating her for?" I asked him.

"I've been dating her for about three months now, I just didn't tell anyone about it. I think I'm in love with her though." he said.

"Leo that's great! I'm really happy for you. And I get to meet her when? "I asked with a smile.

"Soon. She doesn't leave California much." he said.

"What's her name?" I asked Leo.

"You will find out when you meet her." he said.

"You're so annoying, you know that?" I asked him and he smiled.

"I know, I get that a lot. So when will I be in you're wedding?" he asked.

"First I need to get engaged but hopefully within the next year and a half." I said.

"Max will come around." he said.

"I don't know if he will or not. I love him more than anything else in this world but we don't share the same dreams for our future. I want to be married and have a family but he just wants us to be an unmarried couple forever." I said to Leo.

"Carter, I think that you should follow what you want more in life. You're an amazing person and I love you and Max and I think you two make an amazing couple but you should do what is best for you. If you have you're heart set on having a family and being married, then maybe Max isn't the guy for you." he said.

"Thanks Leo. I'm glad I have you to talk to." I said then he gave me a hug.

"I'm always here for you with my words of wisdom. I think Max is trying to come over here so I will talk to you later." he said then walked towards a group of my friends. Max walked over and wrapped his arms around me.

"I don't know about you but I'm exhausted. do you want to head back to the house?" he asked me.

"Sure. I'm pretty tired myself." I said then we walked over and said goodbye to Clarisse and Chris then said goodnight to our other friends.

* * *

Max and I got into bed and I rested my head against his bare chest. He wrapped his arms around me and his tattoo shined in the moonlight.

"Good night beautiful." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Good night." I said.

"I love you." he said.

"Love you too." As I lay in bed, I began thinking more about Leo said. I loved Max and I really want to be with him for the rest of my life. I want him to be my husband and the father of my children but he doesn't want that. He was so amazing and I can't picture my life without him, but having children is a huge part of my future. I'm torn between the man I love and the future I have always dreamed of having. I just wish that they could meet somewhere in the middle.

**I think this was the longest chapter I have ever written. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know :) Please check out the wedding stuff on my profile and if you have ideas I will take them. You all are so important to me and I love each and every one of you! Thanks for reading my story(ies)! **


	21. Cooking with Friends

**Hey everyone! So I hope you like the wedding chapter and Carter's heart-to-heart with Leo. I always love reading the reviews and seeing your reactions! Oh and you can PM at anytime. I always go on my computer at least once a day so I respond ASAP. Anyways thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

I sat on the couch of Max and my apartment reading a magazine. Nothing has been to exciting in my life. It has been a month since Chris and Clarisse's wedding and they just got back from their honeymoon yesterday. It was always so boring during the day at right now it was almost seven at night and Max was still at the hospital. It was the same thing each day: wake up, eat breakfast, check emails, run errands, eat lunch, do something else, watch t.v., have dinner, then go to bed. All of my friends work so I don't have anybody to hang out with all day. Well Kat doesn't work but she usually feels sick during the day and can't go anywhere without feeling sick. Percy doesn't do anything during off-season so I usually end up hanging out with him. We vent to each other about trying to convince Annabeth and Max that marriage is a good thing and so are kids. I rarely have to work. I help with the United Nations b ut we only have set meetings once a month unless there is an issue at hand. There are only a handful of errands to run each day and the repeated routine gets old. My phone buzzed on the glass coffee table. I picked it up and it said an iMessage from Annabeth Chase. I typed in my passcode and the message appeared:

Annabeth:_ Hey Carter, do u want 2 go do something tonite?_

I responded back with _Like what? Anything is better than sitting alone._

_The girls and I talked about taking a cooking class, u up for it?_

_Sure when?_

_In thirty minutes, I'll pick u up and we can meet the others at the building_

Max walked in about ten minutes later in his scrubs. He set down the house key on our granite counter then walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"How was work?" I asked him as he came over and sat down next to me.

"It was exciting, as usual. I delivered twins today." he said.

"That's cool and disgusting but whatever." I said to him and he smiled.

"Yeah too many germs for you." he said then laughed.

"Oh now you're attacking my OCD. Seriously can we please move past it!" I said to him and he smiled.

"On the plus side, the apartment is never dirty." he said.

"Yeah that is a good thing because if I wasn't here this place would look like a bomb went off."

"I'm not that bad. So anything exciting happen today?" he asked me then took a sip out of his water with a little bit running down the side of his mouth.

"Not really. I read emails, paid some bills but Annabeth and I are meeting up with the girls to take a cooking class."

"You're a great cook so why are you taking a class?" he asked me.

"Just to do something. I have a pretty boring day with you gone for most of it and nothing much to do. When I was Queen, I barely had the chance to sit and relax. Now I have to much time on my hands."

"Well I was hoping to spend some time with you but you should go out."

"It won't be long. Also I'll get make more recipes." I said to him and he smiled.

"Alright I guess that is a benefit." he said then gave me a kiss. Annabeth knocked on our door and I walked over to answer it.

"Hey Carter," she said then peered her head over to look at Max, " hey Max."

"Hey Annabeth." he said.

"So you ready?" she asked me.

"One sec let me grab my purse." I walked over and grabbed my bag then gave Max one last kiss.

"Ew PDA!" Annabeth said with a smile.

"Oh please like you don't." I said then we walked down to her black range rover.

* * *

When we got to the place, all the girls were standing and waiting for us. I said hello to all of them.

"Alright class, I am Mrs. Donaldson and I will be your instructor for the evening. Now will everyone pick a partner." she said. Both Annabeth and Thalia turned towards me.

"Hey Carter, do you want to be my partner?" Thalia asked.

"No she is going to be my partner." Annabeth said.

"Oh really why is that?" Thalia asked.

"Because I'm a worse cook than you and I don't want to embarrass myself." Annabeth said.

"Fine put the two perfectionists together." Thalia said and everyone laughed.

"Ok class, tonight we are going to make Baklava. This doesn't involve much use of the oven as it does with manual labor." Mrs. Donaldson said.

"Do you know how to make Baklava? Wait of course you do. You can make any Greek dish." Annabeth said.

"That's not fair, you got the legit Greek girl who can make this stuff as if it was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Thalia said.

"You all have Greek blood in you. If you need help I can help you." I said.

"Alright let's start with what you need. First you need sixteen ounces of phyllo dough which I have for you up here." I walked up and grabbed the phyllo dough which is very thin and very delicate.

"Ok now pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and butter the bottoms and sides of your pan."

"Next you need to measure out one pound of chopped nuts with the scale." Annabeth took out the scale and we measured exactly one pound of nuts.

"Carter, if you're this much of a perfectionist, how do you finish the damn meal on time?" Thalia asked.

"Patience, Thalia. There is nothing wrong with having things be exact." I said and Annabeth nodded.

"After that measure one teaspoon of cinnamon." Annabeth grabbed the measure cup and poured exactly one teaspoon of cinnamon. "Toss the nuts with the cinnamon then set them aside for later use. Now unroll your phyllo dough then cut in half to fit your pan. Take two sheets and butter them. Make sure to cover your dough with a damp cloth so it doesn't dry out." Annabeth grabbed the sheets of phyllo dough and ripped one in half.

"Do you want help?" I asked her. She nodded in frustration.

"Do this until you have eight layers of dough. Then sprinkle about two teaspoons of the nuts on top. Take two more sheets and butter them then put the nuts on top and repeat. The top layer should have ix to eight sheets."

We stacked them neatly and evenly distributed the nuts. Our baklava was looking good so far.

"Ok now take a sharp knife and cut it into squares or diamonds." I grabbed the knife and did the traditional way of making it by cutting it into diamonds.

"Place the baklava in the oven for about fifty minutes. We will prepare the sauce while it is baking." she said.

"Our baklava doesn't look that bad." Thalia said.

"Good can't wait to see how it turned out." I said to her.

"Measure one cup of water and measure one cup of white sugar." I poured one cup of sugar and looked over to see Kat had missed the cup and the sugar had spilled on the counter.

"Now take the water and boil it along with the sugar. When the sugar is melted, take one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a 1/2 a cup of honey and simmer it for about twenty minutes." We took the mixture and simmered it while our baklava baked. After the fifty minutes was up, we removed our baklava from the oven and immediately spooned the sauce over it.

"Let it cool and then place in cupcake wrappers." she said. We gently placed them in the wrappers. We then each took a bite out of them.

"I actually made something that wasn't burnt or that tasted disgusting." Annabeth said.

"Congrats. If you want more food recipes, I can help you." I told her.

"Yeah that might be nice instead of frozen food each night." she said.

"Wow this stuff is amazing." Thalia said.

"Baklava is Connor's favorite dessert and now I actually know how to make it." Sadria said.

"So have you and Connor given any thought about starting a family?" Piper asked.

"Actually we have. We have talked about having a family in a year or so. He really wants kids and so do I. I think he would make an amazing father, especially if we have boys." Sadria said.

"I hope we have a girl." Kat said looking down at her now showing stomach.

"That would be great. Annabeth have you given anymore thought about marriage or a family?" I asked her.

"Why does it matter if I'm married or not?" she said in a defensive tone.

"Annabeth I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just was wondering."

"I don't think I want a family or to be married." she said.

"Why? You would make a great wife and a great mom."

"I never really had a family growing up. My step-mother hated me and tried to get rid of me. My father often took her side and wasn't there for me. Athena wasn't there for me. She sent me on a quest that had killed every one of her children except me. I have never had a motherly figure in my life. I feel like if I were to marry Percy, that I would be a disappointment. I don't think I would make a great mom because I have never had one. I love Percy but I wouldn't want to disappoint him or our children." she said.

"Annabeth, knowing you, you would be amazing at being a mother. I think you would make a great mom because you didn't have a great mother and you want better for your kids. You're just over thinking everything." I said to her.

"Maybe I am a little bit but I still believe that I won't be a great mom." she said.

"I think that once you have a child, you will go into automatic mother mode. You and Percy are going to make great parents one day, I just know it." I said to her and all the other girls nodded in agreement.

"I suppose I can keep an open mind about it." she said then grabbed her keys.

"You ready to leave?" I asked her.

"Yeah I'm exhausted." she said.

* * *

When I walked in the apartment, Max was fast asleep on our couch. I set my purse on the counter and walked over then sat down next to him. I lightly rubbed his arm:

"Max, Max..." he started to stir slightly. His eyes then fluttered open.

"Oh hey beautiful." he said then sat up.

"Hi, you must have been really tired because you were out of it." I said to him.

"Yeah I'm really tired. I think I might head to bed." he said.

"I think I'll join you." I said as we both walked up our spiral staircase. He threw off his shirt and I smiled.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing it just never gets old." I said to him.

"Nice to know I still got it." he said and I laughed.

"It's only been seven years." I said.

"Yeah but whatever. You still got it too." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Thanks." We both climbed into bed and I leaned up against him with his right arm wrapped around my waist.

"Oh I want to take you out to lunch tomorrow." he said.

"alright that sounds lovely." I said to him.

"Carter these last seven years have been the best time of my life. I love you." he said.

"They have been amazing. I love you too Max." I said then he gave me another kiss. We lay in bed entangled in each others arms. I could hear the sound of Max's heartbeat which was calming. He played with my curls and we started to get more and more tired. As frustrated as I get with Max sometimes, he is just too irresistible to leave.

**Ok not the best chapter I've ever written. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk, you can always PM me! Also thank you to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for the idea! If you have any, I'll take them off your hands. Thanks everyone, you all are amazing and please REVIEW!**


	22. A Romatic Evening With Th Man I Love

**Hey everyone! So right now, well at least most of the USA, has a lovely spring. Here in Minnesota, we got 12 inches of snow. I'm so done with this weather! I hope all of you are doing well! Just want you all to know that you can PM me whenever! I respond to every message. I don't own PJO!**

Everything outside was beautiful. It's October so all the leaves on the trees have changed color and the weather has gotten cooler. Earlier today, I had lunch with Percy. Fridays we always met at a café for lunch to just talk. I have become really close to Percy since we both realized we were having the same relationship issues. Tonight I'm going to try to have a romantic night with Max. Since he works from seven in the morning to as late as two in the morning the next day, we don't get to spend ,uch time together. He usually has the weekends off including tonight. Since I'm a huge perfectionist, I had to have everything go smoothly and be well... perfect. We had a small table with two chairs up against the window underneath the loft. I dragged it over to where the kitchen is. I grabbed a white table-cloth and draped over the table then grabbed a three branch candlestick holder and placed it in the middle of the table. I grabbed two wine glasses and set the table with my nice silver. The table looked like something you would find in a Paris café. I decided to make sushi for dinner. Sushi is one of my favorite foods, well vegetarian sushi that is. I also decided to make spring rolls. I got a bunch of ingredients and wrapped them up in the transparent shell. So far, everything was perfect. I ran upstairs and put on a one-sleeve red dress, red open-toe heels with bows on them, a four-strand pearl bracelet, pearl earrings with bows and red lipstick. I walked downstairs just as Max came through the door.

"Surprise!" I said and he smiled.

"You did all of this for me?" he asked.

"Yes. I thought it might be nice to have a romantic evening." I said and he gave me a kiss.

"It looks amazing." he said.

"Thanks. Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving. I haven't had much to eat today. I had to do a transplant surgery which took a while. I'm just glad I'm home with you." he said.

"That's so sweet." I said as I carried our plates over along with a bottle of red wine.

"I'm so glad you can cook. The only thing I can cook is meat and you don't eat that." he said.

"That's ok. I love to cook and sushi is one of my favorite meals."

"It's delicious. So are the spring rolls." he said and I smiled. His face was nicely lit by the candlelight.

* * *

We ate then both went over to the couch and sat down. We decided to watch a movie together. I leaned on his chest with a blanket covering our legs. We watched The Princess Bride because Max didn't want a movie that was too lovey-dovey. I have always loved this movie. It is so sweet and cute. After the movie, I sat up and faced Max.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" I asked him.

"Yeah. It has just the right amount of everything. A little romance, comedy, drama and so on." he said then grabbed my hands.

"So where do you see us in ten years?" I asked him.

"I see us living in an actual house with maybe a pet around the house."

"No kids?" I asked him and he got a weird look on his face.

"Carter you know where I stand on that."

"I know why you don't want kids. I just really want to have at least one"

"Carter maybe in ten years I will change my mind but that's doubtful."

"I think you would make a great father."

"Thank you but I have a busy job which would keep me away from the kids."

"Max I'm sure we could make it work."

"Carter please can we just change the subject."

"Fine. So I'm heading to Greece in a couple of months and I would love it if you came along with me."

"Honey, depending on how many days I can take off work, I'll see I can go with you. Why are you heading to Greece?"

"I wanted to visit my mother. I haven't seen her in a while so I thought I would visit her. I was actually thinking maybe a couple of weeks before Christmas."

"That would be nice. I hopefully have enough days to take off to go with you. It's been a while since I have been to Greece."

"It's been long for me too. Oh and I was going to ask you something else too."

"Sure what is it?"

"Have you ever thought of getting a dog?"

"Carter, I told you that having a dog would be a challenge."

"Max I would love to have a dog. It gets lonely during the day."

"Honey I don't want to get a dog right now. I would like to buy a house first then get a dog."

"You want to buy a home?" I asked him.

"Well I don't plan on living in an apartment for the rest of my life. I would like to buy a home in the next couple of years."

"I would like that. I was also thinking maybe we could get a home in the Hamptons."

"That costs a shit load of money."

"Max I'm a billionaire. I own multiple homes across the world, I have multiple cars, I own crown jewels, I own a palace and I own Greece."

"Right I forget that sometimes. Not typical things you would hear from your girlfriend."

"I understand. Sometimes I feel like I have too much money than I can manage. Even with taxes, apartment payments, charity donations, car payments, house payments, I still have more money than I can manage."

"Wow your life must be hard." he said sarcastically.

"With a great amount of money comes a great amount of responsibility. Honestly I would give it all away in a heartbeat. I don't enjoy being rich. I would love to be an average middle-class citizen then have all my money. People think that being rich is the life, it's not. You never know who your real friends are and people treat you differently. I just want to be like everyone else."

"I can tell you that I'm not in this relationship for the money, I'm in it because I love you." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Thank you. I'm glad I have you and friends who aren't fake around me. I love you so much Max." I said. We walked upstairs to our room and laid on the bed wrapped in each others arms. It was a successful romantic evening. I wish every night could be like this.

**This chapter was more of a transition chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it at least a little bit. Please let me know what you thought and or if you have any ideas for me :) Thanks everyone and you all are amazing!**


	23. A Campfire we will Never Forget

**Hey my lovely readers! First off for my Boston readers (if I have any) I hope you all are safe and I was devastated to hear about the bombing. My dad had friends running in the marathon so he was on top of notifying my on what happened. Also this week I have MCA's which are Minnesota State tests which I'm required to take/pass to graduate high school. Because of that most of my time has gone towards eating, sleeping and homework (sadly not much writing). This is an important chapter and I wanted to get it right so it takes me longer to write chapters like this. I don't own PJO and sorry for the long author's note.**

I grabbed my weekend bag from my closet and set it on the bed. This weekend, all of us were going to Camp Half-Blood to see the new campers and take a break from the world. Even though I wouldn't have any new siblings, I'm still excited to go. Camp was the first place I felt like I belonged. I met my best friends, half-siblings, and my boyfriend at camp. I haven't been to camp since August before my eighteenth birthday, so a lot could have changed. I packed the basics: long-sleeved shirts, jeans, sandals, boots, etc. Max was downstairs talking to Percy on the phone when I came down with my bag in hand. He was dressed in a basic red t-shirt with jeans and converse. He looked over and gave me the one-minute symbol.

"Alright see you there man." he said then put his phone on the kitchen counter.

"You about ready? " I asked him.

"Yeah. Let me get the bag and we can go." he said going up the spiral staircase then coming back with his bag in hand.

"It will be so much fun to go back to camp." I said to him.

"Absolutely. We get to go back to the place where our relationship first started." he said then gave me a kiss.

"That is one of the best memories at camp for me. "I said then grabbed my keys.

* * *

We decided to take my car which is a cherry red California Ferrari. In the summer its nice to have the top down but since it's the middle of October, the weather has cooled. Driving to camp is so relaxing. The trees were all red, orange and yellow. It was nice to have time to bond with Max and talk. Whenever we have long car rides, we play a game. We each make a playlist with any type of music and we play it for the other person and see if they can guess the name of the song and the artist. Max chooses older American songs I usually choose classical songs or Broadway songs.

_I've got so much honey the bees envy me. __I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees. __I guess you'd say, __What can make me feel this way? __My girl (my girl, my girl), __Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)._

"Hmm well I know the title is My Girl but the artist is...hmm."

"Do you want a hint?" Max asked me.

"Sure."

"It is to give into something." Max said.

"Uh Temptations?" I guessed and he smiled.

"Yeah alright your turn."

_Softly, deftly, music shall caress you, Hear it, feel it secretly possess you, Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind, In this darkness that you know you cannot fight, The darkness of the music of the night_

"Obviously something Broadway." he said.

"Yeah its a huge Broadway musical."

"I think it's from Phantom of the Opera..."

"Nice job, name the composer and the song."

"Ok I only know it's from Phantom of the Opera because you watched that recently. Hmm Andrew Lloyd Webber and the song is something with the night."

"Music of the night. I'm impressed." I said to him. We continued our game until we reached camp. We met up with our friends and all walked down the hill together. Inside the camp borders it was warm and sunny. It didn't even feel like fall. Campers ran around with armor on and carrying their weapons. Looking over the hill reminded me of the first time I ever came here with Max and Percy. When we reached the bottom of the hill we spotted Chiron talking to one of the campers, possibly an Ares camper based on the build.

"Ah welcome home!" he shouted the came over to meet with us. "It's so nice to see all of you again. How has life been treating you?" he asked.

"Everything has been great." Annabeth said with Percy's arm wrapped around her waist.

"I'm glad to hear that. I was figuring that all of you would sleep in your cabins, however I realized that many of you are married so sleeping arrangements might be altered." Chiron said.

"I'll stay in the Ares cabin. Max will you join me?" Clarisse asked.

"Sure why not. Re-live the times when we were head of the cabin." Max said.

"That means I'm heading back to the Hermes cabin. Connor? Travis?" Chris asked the two. Sadria and Katie motioned for them to go ahead and the three guys walked to the log-cabin.

"Annabeth and I will stay in the Poseidon cabin." Percy said. Sadria smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Spencer and I will stay in the Poseidon cabin too." Kat said.

"Well this will be awkward. Please tell me our double beds are still in there." Sadria said.

"Yes your cabin is just how you left it." Chiron said.

"Good then I will have a room away from the couples." Sadria said.

"I guess Thalia and I will stay in the Hades cabin." Nico said.

"Sorry Pipes but I think I would rather stay in the Zeus cabin with Carter." Jason said.

"That's fine. I didn't really think you wanted to stay in a cabin with pink, frilly everything."

"Oh good I thought I was being left alone in the Zeus cabin. That cabin is scary as hell at night." I said.

"So you're having your little brother protect you?" Leo asked.

"I'm sorry but do you have a statue of your father in your cabin watching your every move? I didn't think so." I said and he laughed.

"Since Frank and I aren't technically Greek, can we still stay here?" Hazel asked.

"I don't see why not. You can stay in the cabin of your Greek parent." Chiron said.

"You don't mind me staying with you and Thalia, do you?" Hazel asked.

"No problem." Nico said.

* * *

After that we all went into our cabins. Jason and I walked into the Zeus cabin, my boots clicking on the marble floor.

"I'm sorry dad but this statue should be removed." I said and Jason nodded in agreement.

"I don't like having dad watch us sleep." Jason said.

"It's uncomfortable."

"It's only for two nights. Then we can return back to our apartments." Jason said.

"At least this gives us a chance to bond." I told him.

"Yeah it does." Jason and I talked more about ourselves. I was close to Jason but not nearly as close as I was to Spencer. I loved having a sister who doubles as a best friend and having two brothers.

"I can't wait for campfire tonight." Jason said.

"Yeah it will be so nice to just relax for a weekend." I said.

"Really what do you do all day?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"I'll have you know that I ruled a country for four years and I am a United Nations ambassador for Greece so you can shut up." Jason laughed at that.

"So why do you live in New York then?"

"Because of all of you and Max's work is in New York." I said.

"Do you think you two will move to Greece?" Jason asked me.

"I don't know. I don't think we will move until we're married, if we get married." I said looking down at the ground.

"Sorry sis but Max will come around, hopefully. We all have been trying to persuade him but he is stubborn."

"You're telling me." I said.

* * *

We all had dinner then walked down close to the beach for the campfire. Everyone sat around with the orange glow hitting our faces. I was leaning against Max as we heard all the stories about the new campers.

"Ok everyone, I would like to give a speech." Percy said.

"Percy we are all tired of your 'Savior of Olympus' speeches." I said and he just gave me a sarcastic grin.

"Well I am the Savior of Olympus, and Carter I saved your ass so you can just shut your mouth."

"Excuse me?" I said to him.

"You're welcome. Anyways that isn't what this speech was going to be about. Camp has always been my home. From the first day I got here, it changed my life forever. I felt like a part of me was complete. Grover, you were always there for me through everything. You helped me get here and you stayed by my side the whole time. Dude you were one of my best friends and you still are to this day. Thanks for sticking by my side. I also learned a lot from being at camp. A lot about my family, how to survive, but I learned a lot about myself and who I was at this camp. I made a lot of friendships that will last me a lifetime. To all my friends, I'm so glad I have all of you. When I was over at the Roman camp, I made some friends there too. Frank and Hazel kept me from making a fool out of myself in front of the Romans. We went on a quest together and instantly became best friends. But there has been one person was has been by my side from day one."

We all turned our heads to Annabeth who was glowing even without the firelight.

"Annabeth I will never forget the first time we met. You were nursing me back to health in the infirmary and the very first thing you said was that I drool in my sleep. Not very many people can say that was the first thing they said to each other. I won't forget the princess blonde curls that fell on your shoulders. You have always been there for me. From the time we went to retrieve the lightning bolt to saving Grover, then me panicking about you being lost to facing the dangers of the maze and fighting Kronos. Even when I was lost, you still remained hopeful and believed that I was still alive and well. I have loved every minute I have spent with you and I wouldn't give that up for anything in the world. Not only are you the love of my life but you are my best friend. So with everyone we care about around, I want to ask you something very important." Percy said then got down on one knee. Annabeth's grey eyes widened.

"Wisegirl, will you marry me?" Percy asked her and tears formed in her eyes. Her smile was miles wide and covering her mouth with her hand she nodded a yes. Percy slipped the ring on her finger and they hugged each other then shared a kiss. We all clapped for them and smiled. Annabeth looked over at us and mouthed "Oh my god." I was happy for them but I was extremely jealous too. I have been jealous of all my friends getting engaged but this was the worst feeling I had. I think it was because Annabeth never really wanted to get married and now she and Percy were engaged. I looked at the fire and noticed that all the flames were orange but mine was a deep red. I wasn't the only one to notice the flame color was different in front of me alone. Max rubbed my arm and I tried to manage a smile. I tried to manage a smile throughout the rest of the campfire. Looking over at Annabeth who was beaming and the diamond was lit up by the firelight. The flame remained red the whole time. I got up to walk back to the cabin and Percy tapped my shoulder.

"Carter are you ok?" he asked as everyone went to the cabins.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm really happy for you and Annabeth." I said then gave him a hug.

"Thanks but I did notice that your flame was red. The campfire reflects the mood of the campers. Something is bothering you."

"Percy don't worry about it. Tell Annabeth not to worry about it either. I'm happy for the both of you and I will see you tomorrow." I said.

"Alright then, good night." he said then walked towards the Poseidon cabin. I walked into the Zeus cabin, the marble feeling cooler then usual. I looked at the statue of my dad. I felt like instead of a statue, it was my real father, standing there judging me. Jason looked over at me.

"If you wan to talk, I'm here for you..."

"It's fine but thank you. I'm just going to go to sleep." I said.

"Ok, night Carter." Jason said then closed his eyes.

"Night Jason." Jealousy is not a good quality in a person, too bad it's a quality I posses often.

**So what did you think? Was the Percabeth proposal good enough for you? Actually my bff gave me the idea so thank you to I'm-too-outrageous-4u. Also check out her story A Million Reasons Why, she finally updated! Thanks everyone and let me know what you thought by reviewing, PMing me or if you have ideas I will take those as well :)**


	24. Drama in Paris

**Bonjour! I hope you all are doing well. What did you all think of my Percabeth proposal? I hope you thought it was good. So I hope you all are ready for some plot twists because these next couple of chapters will have some. If you want to give me ideas then please do so or contact me if you have ideas. Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

It has been about five days since Percy and Annabeth's engagement. Percy and Annabeth asked us all to join them in a trip to Paris. So I'm packing for our week-long trip to Paris. This trip might be the chance for Max and I to really start thinking about our future. We will be in the city of love and maybe he will start to think more about us as a couple. We were flying out tomorrow and leaving on sunday. Most of my friends haven't been to Paris so this trip was exciting for them. Annabeth and Percy went when they were a new couple and Sadria has done a lot of work over in Paris. I have gone to Paris so many times I couldn't even tell you the amount. Once I went there with Alexander which was nice but about a month later we broke up. Max was fast asleep on the couch downstairs from his long shift at the hospital. I went down to wake him up. I walked over to the couch and gave him a kiss. He smiled and stirred until his eyes opened.

"I'm done packing so you can sleep on something a little more comfortable." I said to him and he sat up.

"The couch isn't that bad but a bed is nicer. I'm glad I got all my packing done last night because tonight wore me out."

"Well just think in less than a day and a half, we will be in the city of love." I said and he smiled.

"I can't wait to go there with you." he said then gave me a kiss.

* * *

The next day we all met at the airport. We had an early morning flight at 6:40am. That way we would be in Paris in time to have dinner. Everyone was tired and all had some form of caffeine in their hands. Sadria was asleep on Connor's shoulder as was Kat to Spencer. We decided to go through security which was easy enough since nobody was really at the airport. When we got to the seats to wait for boarding, everyone's ADHD mixed with caffeine rush kicked in. Everyone was wide awake except maybe Kat who wasn't allowed to have caffeine while she was pregnant. Percy and Annabeth were talking and seemed inseparable. Every since they got engaged they were like wild animals always with each other always energetic. All the girls kept looking at Annabeth's diamond ring. I'm not trying to sound bitter but I really want to just shoot myself in the head. All of my friends minus Leo, Frank and Hazel were engaged or married. I'm tired of hearing wedding talk and looking at all the girls diamond rings. It's too much and I just want it to stop. When we boarded the plane it didn't stop it just got worse. Percy and Annabeth were being extremely lovey-dovey which made me want to puke. I rested my head on Max's shoulder and tried to ignore it all. This was going to be the longest plane ride I have ever taken. This is just the start to a long vacation.

* * *

We arrived in Paris around 8pm and I took all of my friends to a lovely restaurant for dinner. My friends were all super excited to be in the city of love and all the girls decided to go shopping tomorrow. Sadria decided she was going to stop by her office to finish up the spring collection. She knows Paris just as well as I do. When we were done with dinner, we walked along the streets of Paris taking in the beauty of the lights. We passed by the Eiffel tower which was glowing with lights. No matter how many times I come here, the city never seems to bore me. It was even more special to be with the man I love in the city of love. Shop windows displayed the newest European trends which would reach the states in about five years. We walked past a jewelry store where diamond rings glittered through the glass. Of course that put a knot in my stomach and made Max feel awkward at the sight. About five blocks later we passed a wedding dress store where Piper and Annabeth commented on what types of dresses they were thinking of wearing. No matter where I go, I can't escape wedding boutiques and the talk of weddings. The more I see or hear about it, the more angry I feel towards Max. We got to the hotel and said our goodnights then went to our rooms. I happened to pull some strings while booking our rooms because even though I'm not French, I'm well-known across Europe. This puts me at an advantage going places and it benefits my friends by getting them the best rooms. We had a perfect view of the city from all of our rooms it gave a romantic feeling to everything. Max and I walked out onto the balcony and gazed at the gorgeous city.

"Wow this view is breath taking." Max said smiling as he looked out into the valley of lights.

"It is beautiful isn't it." I said then he turned to face me wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me in closer.

"So I was hoping to see most of the key points of Paris over the course of this trip, will you be my tour guide?" he asked and I smiled.

"Yes I would love to show you around. I know Paris like it was the back of my hand. I know the best places to eat, shop, relax, and the most romantic places."

"I definitely want to see these romantic places you speak of."

"Then you're in luck because I was hoping to visit one tomorrow night." I said and he pushed one of my curls away from my face.

"Really where is it?"

"It's the Paris Love bridge. It is a bridge that is covered in locks from couples. Couples put a lock on the bridge then throw the key into the river to show that love is everlasting." I said.

"Then I would love to go there."

"Great. I think the girls and I are spending most of the day shopping so right afterwards you could meet me at the bridge."

"Sounds like a plan." he said then gave me a kiss. He held me in his arms on the balcony for a while. This moment was perfect.

* * *

The next day, the girls and I went shopping. We went to cute little French boutiques buying jewelry and small things. Annabeth and Piper looked at some wedding dresses but didn't find anything to there liking. Kat looked at some of the boutiques that sold baby items. She found little booties and some toys that were absolutely adorable. She also found a cute crib mobile that would work for either a boy or a girl. She bought it and we walked to Sadria's office for her to pick up some items and so she could mail the mobile to Kat and Spencer's apartment. Her office was nice and overlooked the city. She came to Paris at least five times a year to help with designs and of course Paris fashion week. Her office had vintage French fashion magazine covers along with some of Christian Louboutin's shoe designs.

"I wish my office was like this in Manhattan." she said.

"Well think of it this way, you have your offices in the two fashion capitals of the world." I said.

"Yeah I do. I'm coming back here in a month anyways to help collaborate on an idea." she said flipping through some paperwork on her desk.

"To meet with Mr. Louboutin himself?" I asked her.

"Yes! I'm so excited, I have seen him a few times but he loves my work and wants me to help design some shoes for the new line. There is a possibility he might even let me design a whole collection by myself to be sold worldwide."

"Sadria that's great! Congratulations." Annabeth said.

"Thanks. I'm also working on my line for New York fashion week so I can hopefully open my own business in the next couple of years. Connor is really supportive which helps tremendously."

"That's nice for you." I said to her.

"Yeah it really is. Oh Carter are you and Max doing anything special while in the city of love?" Sadria asked.

"Please don't go into major details because he is still my brother." Clarisse said.

"Well tonight we are meeting each other at the love bridge to put a lock on the bridge tonight." I said.

"Oh that's so sweet." Piper said.

"Yeah its a step in this long process." I said.

"Maybe while you're at the bridge, he might purpose." Hazel said.

"That would be really sweet. He is meeting me at 8pm tonight. He did tell me he was doing some shopping of his own today so there is a possibility." I said to them.

"Hopefully a good one. So I take it you two aren't coming to dinner tonight?" Annabeth asked.

"No. We are going to have a late dinner I think just the two of us." I told them.

"That's nice. Well depending on how much time it takes you to get ready, we might want to call it quits today." Annabeth said.

"Yeah I was going to shower then get ready plus I have to make it down to the bridge and transportation takes time so I'll head back to the hotel." I said.

We took the metro back to the hotel and I went upstairs to get ready. After I took a shower I put my make-up then got dressed.I put on a short sleeveless red dress that was in the design of a rose that had a thin black belt that went around 180 degrees of my body. I slipped on my black open-toe heels and put on simple jewelry. I grabbed my coat and my clutch and walked out of my room. My friends were walking down to dinner and they all smiled at me.

"Well don't you look lovely." Annabeth said.

"Thanks. Maybe I'll get a ring tonight, you never know." I said smiling at her.

"That would be so sweet. We will all be thinking of you two." Sadria said. "Oh and loving the Louboutins." she said and I smiled.

"Thanks. Have fun at dinner. If I do get proposed to, I'll stop by tonight and show you all the diamond." I said.

"Oh I can't wait!" Percy said mimicking the girls.

" I know Percy you can't contain the excitement." I said and he laughed.

I walked out of the hotel and got a cab to the bridge. The bridge looked beautiful at night with the moonlight reflecting in the Seine river. The shiny locks shined under the moon and it was so romantic. I couldn't wait for Max to come and I really hope he proposes. I stood at the bridge waiting for him to walk down like in the movies. I saw an old couple look at one of the locks. I smiled at them and they did the same. They took out a rusty lock that looked like it was from the fifties and locked it on the bridge and threw the key into the river. I hope one day Max and I will return to Paris when we are older and look at our lock. I waited for him to come. It seemed like an eternity. I checked my phone and saw it was close to 9pm. I had no idea where he was. I looked to see if he sent me a message explaining why he was late. I stood for at least another thirty minutes. I put on my coat because the air was cool against my bare shoulders. I looked at the clock and it was ten. Tears began to run down my face. How could he be this late? Did he forget about something that was so important to me? Or did he decide not to show up? I glanced around and no sight of him. I was hoping this act of love might repair the lost chemistry we have had due to our disagreements. I'm starting to think if this is a sign. Maybe Max isn't the one for me. If we share so many disagreements about our future then maybe he isn't the one. That made me more depressed to think about it. I don't think I could be with someone who doesn't want the same things I do. I saw Max walk towards me.

"Carter, whats wrong?" he asked.

"You forgot, didn't you?" I asked him trying to hold back the tears.

"Well um..."

"You did. Just as I thought."

"Carter can you calm down." he said and that made me feel even worse. He had the lock in his hand along with the key. I grabbed it from him and chucked both of them into the water.

"Max I'm done. I can't take this any longer, we're through." I said then started to walk away but he grabbed my arm.

"Carter what are you talking about?"

"Max I'm tired of waiting for you to take our relationship to the next level. You made it pretty obvious that we don't want the same things in life."

"Carter please give me another chance, I love you."

"Max I've given you plenty of chances. I need to be with someone who wants the same things in life as me. I want to be a wife and a mother but you don't want to get married or have kids. You've lost your chances. Goodbye. I'll find somewhere to stay for the rest of the trip." I said then walked away.

"CARTER! CARTER please wait!" I heard him call but trying to hold back the tears I kept walking not turning my head. Max kept stringing and stringing me along until he ran out of rope. I've never felt this much pain before. It felt like someone shot me in the stomach. I looked down at my phone and scrolled through my contacts. I needed somebody to talk to and I had just the right person in mind. The phone then a familiar voice answered.

"Hello? Carter what do you want?"

"So are you in Paris right now?" I asked.

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"I didn't you just told me."

"So why did you call me?"

"Would you like to meet me at a bar?"

"Um... I thought you didn't drink?"

"Well I decided to treat myself."

"Alright then...I'll see you soon."

* * *

I got in a cab and went to the bar. I walked in and saw Alexander sitting on a bar stool drinking a glass of red wine. I took the stool next to him and ordered a glass of white wine.

"So love why did you ask to meet me? Shouldn't you be with Max?" he asked taking a sip of wine.

"We got into a fight and I called it quits."

"Really? Because when you left me at the altar I figured you two were madly in love."

"Well we were and I still have feelings for them but he didn't want anything I wanted in life. I told him I wanted to get married and have a family wich are two things he didn't want. I need to talk to someone."

"But why me?"

"Because I don't feel like getting my friends in the middle of this. Percy and Annabeth just got engaged and I don't want to ruin this trip for them. Besides Max will go and talk to them and I don't want to be there with them. Even though we have had our differences, maybe we could try again?" I asked him.

"Are you asking me to take you back? Carter you broke up with Max about what thirty minutes ago? Are you looking for a one-night stand?" he asked.

"If you want to call it that then yes."

"I don't know if this is such a good idea."

"Why? You have never second-guessed a night with me before. Why now?"

"Because I feel like it's just... I don't know."

"So is it a yes or a no?"

"Well I suppose it's a yes."

"Good. I forgot just how good wine tasted."

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Smashing." I said then gave him a kiss.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not going to regret anything." I said.

"Alright." Alexander said then wrapped his arms around me. "I guess we can go to my place then..."

"First let's have some drinks."

* * *

Max's POV

My heart had been thrown into the river along with the lock. Losing Carter was the worst thing to ever happen to me. Watching her walk away from me made me feel terrible. Tears formed in my eyes and I couldn't stop them. I love her and she is my everything. I walked back to the hotel and went to Percy and Annabeth's room where everyone was. I walked in and immediately, they knew something was wrong.

"Max whats wrong?" Percy asked me.

"She's gone."

"You mean Carter left?" Annabeth asked.

"She dumped me."

"Why would she do that? She was so excited to meet you at the bridge." Thalia said.

"Well being the fuck up I am, I forgot. I got there two hours late and she took the lock and key and chucked it into the river. She said that she was done waiting around for me and that we were over then she walked away."

"Max..." Clarisse said walking over to me.

"I should have done more for her. I screwed up and lost the one thing I care about the most."

"Where is she right now?" Annabeth asked.

"How am I supposed to know. She didn't say anything to me about it because if I knew, I would follow her to the place."

"Max, have you realized that Carter has been on edge lately?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah it seems like she has been faking her happiness." Sadria said.

"She wasn't ok when we were at camp. She seemed depressed." Jason said.

"Max, does Carter have depression?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh shit. I might have made everything 100 times worse." I said.

"How long has she had it for?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm not sure but I do know she is an alcoholic. Well at least that is what Alexander told me along with some other things."

"Such as..." Annabeth said.

"She also was addicted to pill-popping. I guarantee you she is at some bar right now." I said. If I made this depression worse for her, I could never forgive myself.

"I'll call her." Annabeth said. She put the phone to her ear. "No answer. I hope she is ok."

"I'm sure she is fine. She probably is going through a ton of pain but she will come back tomorrow." Thalia said.

"I feel terrible. I want to spend the rest of my life with her." I said.

"Then why don't you want to get married? Or have kids?" Clarisse asked.

"Because I feel like I would be a let down. I'm not rich like Alexander or her other past boyfriends. I work long hours and I probably wouldn't be able to spend much time with her or our children. I feel like I'm not good enough for her or can give her the life she deserves."

"Max she loves you. Money is not important to her at all. She told me that she wants to settle down with you and have a family. If she didn't think you were good enough for her, then why would she leave Alexander at the altar to be with you or spend the last seven years with you. She cares Max but you push her away." Annabeth said and I felt the tears start to reform.

"I want to win her back. I can't picture my life without her. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe being married and having kids is a good thing."

"Then tell her that!" Thalia said.

"It's too late. I lost her. If I could take back the things I said, I would." I love Carter and I'll do anything to get her back.

**So Carter and Max broke up? What did you think? Please review! Also thanks to my friend I'm-too-outrageous-4u for the Paris idea. If you have any ideas let me know and thanks for reading!**


	25. I get into a huge fight

**Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update last night. I'm either fighting off a cold or my allergies are really bad. Point is that it has been an exhausting week with drivers ed and being sick. I'm so happy to have all of you who understand (I hope). So Carter's dress from last chapter is on my profile as usual so check it out! Thanks everyone and I don't own Percy, Annabeth does.**

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. I turned my head and saw Alexander sleeping right next to me. My head was pounding and I feel sick to my stomach. Alexander began to stir then he opened his eyes and smiled.

"I'm guessing you feel like shit right now?" he asked me.

"Yes. How much did I have to drink?" I asked him and he smirked.

"I lost count after the sixth drink. Do you want some tomato juice?" he said getting up out of bed.

"If it helps get this hangover away then yes." I said. I followed him into the kitchen. I was in one of his dress shirts. Oh shit, I did the unthinkable last night. I walked into his kitchen. His apartment overlooked the Eiffel Tower which was beautiful.

"So here is your tomato juice and I'll make you so burnt toast. It helps get rid of a hangover too." he said walking over to grab his toaster.

"Um... considering I'm in your dress shirt, I'm guessing we..."

"Uh yes. Well the main reason you're wearing that is because you got a little sloppy and spilled red wine down the front of your dress so I sent I washed it."

"Oh my gosh. How wasted was I?"

"You started venting about your problems with all your friends getting married and starting families while you and Max weren't. Then you talked shit about Max and all his problems. You kissed me multiple times and spilled your drink on the ground and well down your dress. Then when you tried to walk you fell and I caught you. It was pretty entertaining but um it was also a complete disaster."

"You're not hung over?"

"No. I only had three drinks. I knew that I would probably have to help you from hurting yourself by falling on your face so I was responsible."

"Ok what happened to the Alexander I know?" I asked him and he laughed.

"Well after you left me I got to thinking about everything a little more. I'm not a player anymore and I'm a little better with my alcohol and partying. Point is, I'm growing up well I mean I am twenty-six so I need to grow up. I want to settle down in the next couple of years and start a family, something you can relate to."

"I think I like the new Alexander. Not a douche but a decent guy."

"Thank you. So do you want me to drive you back to the hotel and you can talk to all your friends?"

"No thank you. I really don't want to see Max right now. I already have to see him tonight at Annabeth and Percy's engagement party."

"Don't you want to talk things through with him?"

"Not really. I'm done dealing with him. He won't commit and I need somebody who wants the same things in life as me."

"Alright then."

"Would you like to come to the party with me tonight?" I asked him.

"Carter that isn't really a good idea. I mean you just broke up with Max..."

"Alexander, maybe we could try to start a relationship again."

"Carter your obviously still a little out of it..."

"I'm serious. The reason I didn't like you in the past was because you were a douchebag. Your pretty attractive now that you've gotten past all of that."

"I don't see why we couldn't start over... but lets take things slow. I'll go to your party with you tonight." he said and I smiled.

"I need to get my things from the hotel though. Can I stay here with you until we all head back?" I asked him.

"Sure. So where are you going to stay when you get back to New York?" he asked.

"I have no idea. I guess I'll buy an apartment in Manhattan. Max can keep our apartment." I said taking a sip of tomato juice.

"Well let's get dressed and I'll take you over to the hotel to get your stuff. You might want to let one of your friends know you're ok and to keep Max out of the room." he said.

"Good idea." I said. I walked over and grabbed my clutch which was on the kitchen table. I grabbed my iPhone and texted Annabeth.

_I'm ok. I found a place to stay 4 the rest of the trip. Can u distract Max while I get my stuff?_

She replied: _We were so worried about u. Sure we r going to breakfast so he wont b in the room. r u still comin tonite?_

_of course I am and thanks._

_good then i'll c u tonite._

* * *

I rode in Alexander's car to the hotel. I walked in and went up the elevator to the hotel room. I grabbed my bags and met Alexander in the front again. We went back to his place and we talked for a while. Then we got ready for the engagement party. I put on a short red lace dress with a thin black belt with a small bow on it. I then put on one of my greek bracelets with diamond earring studs and I slipped on my Fendi black peep-toe heels with the bows on them. Alexander was wearing a light blue dress shirt with a black sport coat and black pants. I grabbed my black bow clutch and walked out the door with him. We got to the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower where the party was being held. The minute they saw Alexander, their mouths dropped. I know what they were thinking: What is she doing with him? She just broke up with Max? Why would she ever go back to him? Max just glared at Alexander and maybe even me.

"Hey everyone you all remember Alexander, right?" I said smiling. They all looked unsatisfied and all muttered "Hm-hm." I looked at Annabeth who was wearing a lavender high-low dress with a yellow flower necklace, a yellow belt and had on white Christian Louboutin peep-toe heels. Percy was wearing a pink shirt with a mint green tie and brown dress pants. He looked nice next to Annabeth.

"Congratulations Annabeth." I said and gave her a hug.

"Thanks. Um...Carter are you ok?" she asked with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well you broke up with Max last night and you showed up with Alexander. I thought you hated him."

"He has changed, honestly. He helped me through stuff last night and I'm giving him another chance."

"Carter you just broke up with Max. You're already moving on?"

"Yes I am. I guess that's just the way I deal with messy break-ups." I said.

"Well if you ever need to talk just let me know." she said.

"Will do." I said then walked over to everyone else and talked to them. Leo was trying to talk to Alexander, unlike the rest of my friends then they both walked over to the group.

"So Kat, Spencer, Carter tells me you two are going to be parents. Congrats." Alexander said.

"Thanks." they both said with little enthusiasm. I know it was hard for my friends to see me with someone else other than Max. We all sat down and had some tea. Then Max motioned to me that he wanted to talk. We both walked over to an area away from our friends.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you brought Alexander with you to the party. That's what I mean. I was hoping we could talk about last night."

"Max I'm done with you. You don't want the same things in life I do. Our relationship went downhill. Alexander wants the same things as I do."

"So you just move on and it hasn't even been 24 hours since we broke up. Let me guess, you two slept together at his place, right?" he asked.

"Yes I did sleep with him. I was drunk and unhappy I wasn't really in control of what was going on."

"Sure Carter sure. No surprise there." he said.

"Excuse me?"

"So how many more guys are you going to sleep with?"

"Zero. What are you talking about?"

"Alexander told me last time we were in Greece that when you broke up with him you slept around with a bunch of guys and got drunk. Hmm seems like the past is repeating." he said.

"Max that was in the past. Yes I slept with Alexander but why does it matter. We are over."

"You know my mother was right about you."

"Really? What did she say?" I asked him. I could tell my friends were listening in from behind.

"That you're a whore." that was a stab to the stomach.

"Excuse me? What did you just call me?"

"A whore. You sleep around and get drunk. I know that the real reason you agreed to go out with me was because you were trying to get over Alexander. I was just another one of your billions of boyfriends. If that's even what you called them." Max never acted that way. I could tell that the Ares part of him was coming through and I didn't like it.

"Fine. I'll agree I slept around and got drunk and popped pills. But I won't agree that you were one of my billions of boyfriends. Yes I didn't think the relationship would last but I fell in love. I thought you were the one and then everything went wrong. You didn't want to be a father or a husband. You didn't give me enough of your time. You chose work over me. I want a man who will do anything he can to be with me and wants to be a husband and a father. That's what I have always wanted. Obviously that wasn't you." I said and tears started running down my cheek.

"You know what, I'm actually glad we broke up. I got away from a train wreck like you. I know you're faking everything Carter. Oh poor Carter lets all feel bad for her. She only grew up in the most privileged lifestyle and she pretends that everything goes wrong for her. Carter all you are is one huge fake. Good that you're dating Alexander because you two are a perfect match."

"I'm not faking anything!"

"Really? That's a lie. How many other lies have you told us? I know your not happy about any of our friends being married or Kat becoming a mother before you. Any other lies you want to tell Carter?"

"Why are you being like this?"

"Maybe because I don't like being used or lied to."

"Max I never lied to you. I was scared to tell you about my past because I was scared you would judge me and only see me as the girl who sleeps with a lot of guys and gets so drunk she blacks out. I thought you could look past all my flaws but I was wrong."

"Carter you kept those things from me. I thought we had a trusting relationship. You couldn't trust me enough to tell me your secrets. I hope you realize that you are being a terrible friend right now. You ruined everyone's vacation with your drama and now you ruined Annabeth and Percy's party. You lied to everyone about who you really are. Any more lies you want to tell?"

I walked away from him and went over to Percy and Annabeth who along with the others were shocked.

"I'm sorry I ruined your party and that I'm a terrible friend and apparently a whore and a fake. I'll let you enjoy your evening without me. I'm really sorry." I said then walked to Alexander's car.

"So your just going to walk away and make everyone feel bad for you? Seems typical for you." Max said. Tears were blurring my vision. I just got in the car and didn't say a word to Alexander. He understood and kept his mouth shut. Max is right, I have been faking, I've been faking that I'm happy.

**What did you all think? I hope you liked it. I made Percy, Annabeth's, and Carter's outfits and they are on my profile. Thanks to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for giving me the idea of this chapter and Percy and Annabeth's outfits. I love you guys and please review!**


	26. The problems continue

**Hello everyone! So did you enjoy my little plot twist? Max the bad guy while Alexander was the good guy? Any ideas you want to give me I'll take them! Also if you want me to give you feedback on your stories or ideas just let me know! I'm good at coming up with backstories. PM me whenever because I love talking to all of you! I don't own PJO, Uncle Rick does!**

I woke up the next morning with Alexander's arms wrapped around my waist. It was hard to wake up with someone else other than Max. All the things he said to me cut like a knife. I never thought he would say such horrible things to me. I'm not talking about him calling me a whore, I'm talking about the fact he called me a liar, a user, a fake, and a terrible friend. I didn't lie to him. I never lied to him about anything. I wonder what my friends think of me now that they know my secret past. I hope they can forgive and forget all the things I have done. Alexander pulled me in tighter and kissed my neck.

"Good morning love." he whispered into my ear. He smelled like a pine forest. The breeze from the window blew in a nice fall scent of Paris.

"Annabeth invited us to lunch, would you like to come?" I asked him and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Of course, I would like that. If we are going to try to make this work, then I want your friends to like me." he said.

"I think that they are surprised I'm moving on so fast but I think once they get to know the new Alexander, then they will adore you." I said to him.

"I hope so. I know we got off on the wrong foot last time I saw them so I want to change their opinions on me." he said.

"The two people I want you to win over the most are Annabeth and Thalia because they are my two best friends and Thalia is my half-sister so..."

"Yes your mother explained your um secret about your father. I know about Zeus and camp and everything." he said and I turned my head around to face his.

"She told you? And you still want to be with me?" I asked him and he smiled.

"I was shocked at first but then I got used to the idea. She thought I should know more about the woman I was marrying and her background. I suppose you could have told me but whatever. I'll try to win over Annabeth and Thalia." he said.

"Well any of the girls oh and Spencer and Jason since they are my half-brothers. It will be hard to win over Clarisse though, I just started to get close to her."

"I'll try my best love." he said then gave me another kiss on the neck.

"I hope she doesn't hate me because I left her brother. Max's mother hated me from the beginning so no problems there but I'm going to miss Fannie Lou."

"Who?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"Max and Clarisse's grandmother. She is so sweet and she was really nice to me. I never knew my grandmother so it was nice to have a person who acted like one."

"My grandmother is nice too. The times she did meet you, she said you were lovely." Alexander said and I smiled.

"Tell her thank you for me. I wonder what kind of grandmother my mother will be."

"Your mother will probably be the type to spoil her grandchildren but discipline them at the same time. I suppose it also depends on how often she would see her grandchildren. If you lived in Greece, I'm sure she would probably be close to them but if you lived somewhere else, she might be distant. My mother is the same way." he said. I my head on his toned and bare chest. He wrapped his arms around my body and his skin was warm.

"Do you want kids?" I asked him. I knew the answer but I wanted to hear him say it to me. I looked into his hazel eyes and he smiled.

"Of course I do. I've always wanted children." he said then pulled me in closer.

"How many do you want?"

"At least two but no more than four."

"I want the same. It doesn't bother you that I'm asking these questions, does it?" I asked him and he laughed.

"Carter it doesn't bother me at all. Actually, if you had married me, we probably would be parents right now." he said.

"That's probably true. I promise, that if we ever decide to get married, I won't leave you at the altar again." I said.

"I'll keep that promise in mind."

"Maybe me breaking up with Max was a sign. A sign that you and I were meant to be together."

"Carter, you have never left my thoughts. I think we are meant to be together." he said then gave me a kiss. We lay in bed talking about our future together.

* * *

We got ready and we went to a nice hotel for lunch. Alexander and I walked in and I spotted Annabeth and Percy along with Spencer, Kat, Jason and Piper at a round table.

"Hey how is everyone?" I asked as we got to the table.

"Lovely." Annabeth said looking at Percy.

"Where is Thalia and Nico? Didn't you invite them?" I asked Annabeth.

"Thalia denied my request." Annabeth said.

"Did she say why?" I asked her.

"No she didn't. She and Nico are probably doing something today. Anyways come sit down and have some food." Annabeth said with her bright smile.

"Then I won't worry too much about it. So any other news?" I asked them.

"Jason and I have planned more of our wedding details." Piper said.

"Really? What have you planned so far?" I asked them.

"We decided to get married in June in Manhattan." she said.

"Are you getting married in a church?" I asked.

"No. We found a really cool rooftop area and we are going to have the ceremony there. Also our color is going to be purple." she said.

"Fitting color. Sounds like it will be a very fascinating wedding." I said to them.

"It will be." Jason said smiling.

"So have you two planned anything for your wedding?" I asked Percy and Annabeth.

"Not really. I'm still in shock that we're engaged." Annabeth said.

"Although we want to get married in the summer." Percy said.

"Another summer full of weddings." I said to them.

"Yes it will be a very exciting summer. Also, Kat and Spencer are going to be parents." Annabeth said and Spencer and Kat both smiled.

"It will be a busy summer." Spencer said.

"Are you two going to find out what the gender of the baby is?" I asked Spencer Kat.

"We want to keep it a secret until the actual birth. So once the baby is born then we will know." Kat said.

"Do you have any names?" I asked them.

"We haven't really thought of names. I guess we have a few in mind but those are a surprise." Spencer said.

"Oh I'm so excited to become an aunt!" I said.

"So am I! Well once I marry Percy then I will be an aunt." Annabeth said.

"Your child will be spoiled by me. Until I have children, I will spoil all of your kids." I said to my friends.

We continued talking until our food came. I had a vegetarian Quiche Lorraine which was delicious. Then for dessert, I had an amazing crème caramel. After lunch we all walked outside. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining. Annabeth turned her head to look at me.

"Are you still staying in Manhattan?" she asked me.

"Yeah I am. I'm going to look for apartments when I get there, but I'll just stay in a hotel until then." I said.

"Good because we want you close." Annabeth said.

"I'm going to try to stay as close as I can to all of you." I said.

"We don't want you to move far!" Annabeth said. We got to the hotel where all of my friends were staying. Alexander picked up his phone and was talking to a person who sounded like they were of great importance. Alexander hung up the phone and faced me.

"I'm sorry love but one of the British representatives is in town and he would like to meet with me to discuss some important issues. I'll try to be back with you as soon as I can."Alexander said then gave me a kiss.

"Ok that's fine. I'll see you later." I said then he walked away. We walked into the hotel and went upstairs to the rooms. I saw Thalia and Nico walking down the hallway. When Thalia made eye contact with me she just turned her head. I walked up to her and she looked angry.

"Where were you two that you had to miss lunch?" I asked them.

"We were busy." Thalia said with a grimace.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked her. "In private?" We walked into her and Nico's hotel room.

"Why are you acting this way? "I asked Thalia.

"I'm mad at you that's why." Thalia said.

"Why are you mad?" I asked.

"Well maybe it's because you are acting like a whole new person. Carter you are going way too fast with Alexander." she said."

"I'm not a new person Thalia. I'm the same Carter as I was before. Just because I moved on, doesn't mean I'm a bad person." I said to her.

"Carter I have to agree with Max, you're acting like a whore." she said.

"What?" I said to her.

"You slept with another guy hours after you and Max broke up. You're taking things way to fast and you did lie to all of us." she said.

"I never lied to you Thalia." I said.

"Really you never told us about your past when we asked you. Well at least you didn't tell us the truth. "she said.

"Thalia I wouldn't lie to you."

"Carter I think that's another lie to cover up all your other ones. Why are you going back to that asshole? I guess it makes sense now that I know the real you." ]

"Thalia why does it matter who I'm romantically involved with?"

"Maybe because it affects our group. Also you have been really bitchy lately." Thalia said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"All you do is complain about your life and how much it sucks to not be married. Carter your life doesn't suck at all. My mother died in a car crash and gave my brother to Hera. I was on the run for my life. I lost one of my best friends and had a terrible childhood. I was imprisoned as a tree. You think your life sucks? You fucking grew up in a palace with servants to wait on you hand and foot. You had your mother there the whole time. You had it all Carter so I don't get why your life sucks? Yes Carter I do think you are a whore for sleeping with a guy after you were drunk. This is the same guy who you left at the altar. I also agree with Max that you have been faking this whole time. I thought I knew you really well and we told each other everything. Obviously I was wrong." Thalia said.

"Thalia I was upset about my past. I was trying to forget that part of my life..."

"No Carter I think what you try to do is get rid of your flaws. I know you think you are better than everyone else. The way you flaunt your money around and the way you think that everything should be about you. Carter I think you are trying to come off as being the perfect angel. You're not perfect at all, in fact you're the most fucked up out of all of us. Not because you complain but because you can't admit you are wrong and you are a fake. Max and I are not the only ones who think this. Everyone does. You lied to all of us about who you are. We don't feel bad for you at all. I used to feel bad for you but I honestly don't give a fuck anymore."

"Thalia I'm not faking anything. Why are you turning against me? I will tell you everything you want to know about my past if it makes you happy."

"Carter forget it. You lied to us and I'm done with you." she said then walked out. One by one the people I care about are leaving me. First I lost my boyfriend now I lost one of my best friends and sister. I hope Annabeth doesn't turn on me. I wish that I never went on this trip. Maybe then I wouldn't feel like I've made some of the worst mistakes of my life. My past mistakes are nothing compared to losing my boyfriend and my sister. I think the only reason Alexander stays with me is because he is just as fucked up as I am. My Pandora box has been opened and I've been exposed.

**What did you all think? Did you like it? REVIEW! Let me know if you have ideas or if you just want to talk that's cool too! Thanks so much for reading my story and thanks to my bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for some of the ideas! **


	27. Lights, Camera, Tension!

**Hello everyone! Happy late Mother's Day. Hopefully you treated your mothers nicely:) Sorry I didn't really update much last weekend! I went to see The Great Gatsby with my friend on Friday and fell asleep early and Saturday night I was so tired! Gatsby was amazing and you should read the book too, it's even more amazing. Anyways contact me if you have ideas or want to talk and thanks for reading! I DON'T OWN PJO :)**

I sat on Alexander's bed going over all my items. Today we were all going back to Manhattan. The plane ride is going to be really awkward since Thalia and Max are both pissed at me. I almost don't want to leave Paris and just stay here so I can leave all the drama to rest. However, I want to be there for when Kat has her baby and to help with Annabeth and Piper's wedding plans. All my items were in my suitcase which sat adjacent to me on the bed. Alexander walked in carrying a mug that had steam rising from the top.

"I made you some tea to help calm your nerves." he said. I grabbed the hot mug from his hand with the steam heating my face. I took a sip of the hot liquid which went down my throat instantly making me feel better.

"Thanks I really needed that." I said setting the mug on the side table. He sat down next to me and grabbed my hand.

"There are only two people who are mad at you. Just sit next to Annabeth or Sadria or any of your other friends. It will be fine." he said kissing my hand.

"I just can't stand the thought of my best friend who is also my sister being so mad at me. When we first got to Paris everything was fine. We were all having a good time even of I was jealous of Percy and Annabeth. Everything was fine until my break-up with Max. That's when the truth of what they thought of me came out. Anytime they see me they have a grimace on their faces. I just wish I never went on this trip."

"Love, sooner or later you were going to realize that being with Max was holding you back from your dreams. Eventually you would have gone your separate ways but it just happened on this trip."

"I think in Thalia's case, she is just mad at me for being with you. I think all of my friends dislike the idea of me dating you."

"Well of course they do. Carter a couple of years ago you hated me. You made your friends dislike me as well, especially when you left me at our wedding. They probably only picture you with Max. I'm glad you gave me another chance to prove to you I am a good guy. I've grown up and realized that I was a jerk and corrected that."

"Or maybe they just don't know you as well as I do. If they see that you have changed, maybe they will accept the idea of you and I as a couple. Would you like to move in with me?" I asked him and he looked nervous.

"Carter I don't know if that's a good idea. It could affect our relationship..."

"No it wouldn't. Please... I need a strong man like you to protect me from the evils that lurk in Manhattan." I said and he laughed.

"I suppose we could give it a shot. I'm not going to move in right away, I'll let you get adjusted to everything then I will come to New York."

"Good! Honestly I don't know what else is going to happen and I need someone to comfort me."

"I'm always here for that. I'm not trying to ruin the moment but your plane is leaving soon so we should head to the airport." Alexander said.

"Fine I suppose we should get there soon." I said.

I walked around the apartment making sure I didn't forget anything. I had on a beige military style dress with beige sandals and a Hermes Paris style tote with an Alexander McQueen scarf tied around the handle. My iPhone lay on the counter with one new message from Annabeth Chase. She asked if we were on our way to which I replied yes. Alexander grabbed my bags being a gentleman as we descended in the elevator. We walked towards the doors and immediately I could tell something was going on. The minute Alexander and I stepped foot outside of the apartment building we were blinded by flashing white lights and surrounded by paparazzi. Their beady eyes watching our every move. Most demigods face monsters of some sort, these were mine. They always say things to grab our attention and to piss us off.

"Are you cheating on your boyfriend Max?"

"Are you two a couple again?"

"Are you engaged?"

"Are you getting married soon?"

"Are you pregnant with Alexander's child?"

There were more harsh things they called me as well as Alexander that I would rather not repeat. Alexander tried to hold me in his arms and cover me from the mob but it didn't work. Actually we were separated by the photographers and ambushed with questions and blinding lights. Most of them were about Max.

"Why aren't you with Max?"

"Are you having an affair with Alexander?"

"Did he cheat on you?"

Of course I just put my hand by my face to try to shield it from the cameras. I know who is going to be front page on the tabloids tomorrow, especially across Europe. They were making me claustrophobic and I felt like my air was escaping my body. From the lights and people crowding my space I started to feel light-headed. If I didn't sit down soon, I'm going to faint in the crowd of paparazzi and they would make up some elaborate story to explain why I fainted. Most common would be morning sickness. Finally I ran towards Alexander's car and we both got in and got away.

"I haven't had to deal with those assholes in a while. Are you ok?" Alexander asked.

"I'm fine. I feel a little light-headed but that's all. I have no idea how they found out I was staying with you." I said to him.

"They probably got a tip off from one of the employees at the apartment buildings or possibly one of your friends." he said.

"I just wish that the paparazzi would go away. I hate having people invade my privacy." I said.

"I know. It's one of the disadvantages of growing up in the public eye." he said. We pulled up to the airport and he grabbed my bags once again. We walked in and I saw my friends gathered in one area talking. Alexander and I walked up and the talking slowly stopped.

"Hello everyone." I said and my friends looked around the room.

"What took you two so long?" Annabeth asked.

"We faced some unwanted visitors." I said.

"Like what?"

"The paparazzi. We walked outside and we were ambushed by cameras and questions. It was terrible! I don't know who tipped them off..."

Oh I did." Thalia said with a smirk.

"why would you do that? You know how much I hate paparazzi. Honestly Thalia that's a new low even for you." I said to her. Nico tried to calm her down.

"Really then you should know that I hate fake bitches like you." she said. Hate is the word that stuck out in that sentence along with fake. Fake is the word that commonly comes up to describe me anymore.

"Thalia I have told you a thousand times that I'm not a fake. Why do you think I am?"

"I looked up some of your past memories. I came across a bunch of magazines with you a story about you being drunk and always with a new guy."

"Thalia I wasn't thinking then. Again it doesn't make me a fake! I can't express that more!" I said to her. Alexander tried to calm me down by grabbing my arm.

"Carter behind the shit load of make-up you wear which by the way, in Ancient Greece, red lipstick was a sign to show which women were prostitutes, funny how that is your signature style, there is a bitch inside of you. I have no problem admitting that I'm flawed and that I can be a bitch sometimes. You however, can't admit that you have flaws. You think your perfect Carter and we are all fucking tired of it." my friends just glanced away including Max.

"Fine Thalia if that is what you want to believe then go ahead. I know the truth behind everything. If anyone wants to add any comments go right ahead."

"Can we stop this please?" Annabeth asked us glancing in between us.

"Fine I'll let it drop." I said. All I want is for everything to be better. I don't want Thalia to be pissed with me and even though Max and I broke up, I want to remain friends. It was close to the time where we were suppose to head towards our gate. I gave Alexander a kiss and noticed both Max and Thalia looked at us with disgust.

* * *

We boarded the plane and I sat next to Leo and the window. Away from Thalia and Max, who both sat closer to the front of the section while Leo and I were in the very back.

"Sorry about you and Thalia." Leo said.

"Hopefully it dies out soon and we can put this argument behind us." I said.

"Anything I can help with?" he asked.

"No thanks. Do you think the same things about me as Thalia does?" I asked him.

"No I don't. I understand about past mistakes and trying to forget about them. Not everyone thinks the same way Thalia does, even Clarisse and Nico don't. Just try to ignore her and Max. We are here for you if you need it, well at least I am." he said.

"Thanks that really means a lot to me. I think that maybe I just need some time away from the group." I said.

"Totally understandable. So you got back together with Alexander. How is that going?" he asked.

"Actually it's really great. I know he used to be a jerk but honestly he has changed. He is a gentleman and he treats me with respect and wants the same things in life as I do. We both want to get married and have children. I've known him my whole life so we are really close."

"That's great that you found someone who might actually be a good husband."

"Yeah I'm happy with him. I mean Max made me happy too but we share different hopes and dreams for the future. So speaking of the future, I still haven't met your girlfriend yet." I said and Leo smiled.

"You will meet her very soon. We are going to elope in Las Vegas and I was hoping that everyone would come and witness our marriage."

"Leo I would love to go!"

"Great. We are thinking next month. You could bring Alexander if you would like."

"Yes we would both love to go. I can't wait. Leo I'm so glad to have a friend like you to talk to."

"I'm always here whenever you need me."

The rest of the plane ride I slept. The past week has been depressing, stressful and fun all at the same time. When we got off the plane, Thalia ignored me and said goodbye to everyone else but Nico said goodbye to me. I walked up to Max.

"Can I talk to you about something?" I asked him.

"What?" he asked with an angry tone.

"I need to get my stuff out of the apartment. When do you want me to stop by?" I asked.

"Honestly Carter, I don't really care. Come and get your shit then leave the key behind." he said.

"Fine." I replied and he walked away. I walked outside and got my cherry red Ferrari and drove off towards the Plaza. I got a room until I find an apartment. I lay on the king sized bed staring at the ceiling. My phone rang and I picked it up to see it was Alexander.

"Hello Love I just wanted to tell you good night and I hope things get better." he said.

"Thanks. I think I'm just going to stay away from my friends for a little bit and focus on finding us a place to live."

"Lovely. I love you and I will talk you later love."

"Love you too." I set my phone down and drifted into sleep. There is so much more to my life then what appears to others.

**More of a transition chapter but I hope y'all liked it. Please review and if you have ideas let me know. I posted Carter's outfit for my chapter on my profile! Check out my bff I-am-too-outrageous-4u's story because she updated with two chapters and it has all the lovely characters in it. Thanks everyone :)**


	28. Never felt so good

**Hello my lovely readers! So since I was super bored, I created Carter's outfit from the previous chapter. It's on my profile page so check it out! If any of you have ideas (I know y'all are getting tired of hearing this) let me know. Even if I don't use your ideas, don't feel bad. Usually I use ideas for inspiration to help create my own ideas! Anyways thanks for reading my story it means a lot to me and I don't own PJO!**

I decided to treat myself to breakfast while I search for apartments to live in. I took a bite out of my Quiche while I examined the numerous apartment offers in the city. I watched the raindrops crawl down the window to my right. The water hit the pavement outside with such force as tourists scrambled to find a taxi in the unpleasant weather conditions. I took a sip of my tea and focused on my search for an apartment. Alexander was coming to live with me in a week so idealy I needed to find a place fast. The apartment I shared with Max was so wonderful. I would love to get a place there but I would rather not have to worry about possibly running into Max. Today was the day I decided to retrieve my items from Max's apartment. I put my laptop back into the bag and walked outside to the cool rain. The heat from my tea kept my hands warm as I walked to get my car. I drove along in the rain, maneuvering around the taxis and traffic until I reached the apartment building. I ascended in the elevator then I walked down the hall to the door. I used my key to unlock the door and saw Max sitting on the couch watching t.v.

"It would have been nice of you to knock." he said.

"Aren't you suppose to be at work?" I asked him as he got up from the couch to come closer to me.

"They didn't need me today and I'm having jet lag so I don't think its safe for me to operate on anyone while I feel sick."

"That's true. So I will just go up and grab my things." I said walking towards the staircase.

"Ok." Max said then sat back on the couch. I walked towards my closet and threw my clothing into boxes. It is so awkward packing up items while my ex-boyfriend sat downstairs watching t.v. After my closet I went into the bathroom and packed up my perfume and the room smelled like cologne. The same cologne that he wore everyday the last thing I smelled when he left. I looked at the side table to make sure I didn't have anything on there. The sheets were askew on the bed and my OCD kicked in. I quickly made the bed and fixed the pillows then I saw the picture. The picture was on Max's beside table. It was a picture of Max and me smiling with smitten looks on our faces. This picture was taken on our last anniversary and he didn't take it down. I was hypnotized for a minute by the picture then I came to senses and continued downstairs to get my china from the kitchen then to get my things from my office. I went into my office first and gathered what I had left in there then walked out and saw Max flipping through the channels.

"There is nothing good on t.v. during the day. What did you watch? All that's on are documentaries, reality t.v, soap operas and kids shows." he said with frustration.

"If I watched t.v., I usually watched reality t.v."

"I really don't want to see a bunch of screwed up women bitching to each other about things. Fuck it I'm watching Scooby-Doo."

"Scooby-Doo? Really?"

"Yes really. It reminds me of my childhood." he said.

"Yeah that's the reason your watching it." I said sarcastically as I walked to the cupboards.

Oh please. Don't think I didn't know that you watch Disney movies during the day." he said.

"Touché." I grabbed the china from the cabinet and put it gently into the box.

"Do you want help with your boxes?" Max asked.

"Actually that would be lovely." I said then he walked over and grabbed two boxes of my things and then I grabbed two as we walked to the elevator. This continued about four times. I had one box left so I grabbed my purse and took out the key to give to Max. He walked over and I handed him the key.

"That's everything." I said then looked up to see he was looking into my eyes. He stepped closer to where we almost touched but he stepped back again.

"Great. Then I will just enjoy my Scooby-Doo." he said then sat down.

"You do that." I said then grabbed the box. I looked over to see him slightly depressed then I turned my head. Break-ups are never easy, especially when we were such great friends from the beginning. I won't deny that I felt a spark and I know he did too, but I can't be with someone who doesn't share my dreams. I got to my car and set the box in the passenger seat. I felt a huge pain behind my eyes. I always get terrible migraines which seem to get worse as I get older. I drove to the hospital and checked in at the front desk. The bright lights of the hospital hurt my head and made the pain increase. Finally a nurse came and got me.

"So what is the problem today Ms. Spiros?" she asked looking at her clipboard.

"I have a migraine and they seem to be getting worse I go along."

"I'll have that checked for you. How long have these migraines been going on for?"

"Ever since I was 12 almost 13. It's a genetic problem I get from my mother."

"Ok well I will have the doctor look at that." I waited about five minutes until a woman in her early thirties walked in.

"Hello I'm Dr. Barlow. I see that you are experiencing terrible headaches and have been for a while."

"Yeah they were bad when I was younger but now I have about three each week."

"Well I think maybe we could put you on a higher form of pain killers. Have you taken any before?"

"Yes when I was 16. I have used some for my headaches but went off them for a while."

"You are aware of the possible consequences of taking these pain killers, aren't you?"

"Yes I am aware of addiction and the usual nausea."

"Ok as long as you are aware and don't overuse, then you should be fine. I'll get a prescription ready for you as soon as I can." she said. She came back in with a bottle of pills and handed them to me.

"One in the morning and one at night. Let me know when you get low on them and I can refill them."

"Thanks." I said walking out.

* * *

After looking at apartments all day, I finally found one I liked. It was in Manhattan and had two bedrooms instead of one. I called Alexander to tell him about the new apartment and he was very excited about it. I sat in the plaza holding the bottle of pills. I took one out and took a sip of water then swallowed it. I walked over and poured myself a glass of wine. Instantly I felt good. I felt like all my worries were gone and I was happy. Before I knew it, I had consumed a full bottle of wine on my own. I got up and fell immediately all I could do was laugh then I grabbed the bottle again and swallowed two more. I felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders. My phone buzzed on the side table and I tried to read the fuzzy writing. I couldn't make out what it was saying so I set the phone down and laid in bed. No words could describe how amazing I feel at this moment.

**So this chapter wasn't that long but I hoped you enjoyed it. Obviously this chapter plays an important part in what is to come. Please let me know what you thought by reviewing. Thanks everyone! **


	29. When I was your man

**Hey lovely readers! How are you? I got my braces off! YEAH! Also I turned 16 on Wednesday! May 29th to be exact! The House of Hades cover was released on Friday! OMG feels! I have received some ideas from a couple of you and I'm always up for more! Hopefully you all are doing great. I don't own PJO!**

Alexander walked in with a brown box and set it down on the counter. I moved into the apartment about a week ago and he joined me two days ago. We bought some new dishes for the apartment and he began to take them out. They were all mulit-colored or had some sort of pattern on them . He took out an avocado green plate and placed it in the wooden cabinet. He then took out a burnt orange bowl and then a lemon yellow bowl and placed them on the cool granite top counter.

"Love, do you want some tea?" he asked taking out a polka teacup and matching saucer.

"No thanks. I think I'll stick to my wine. It's like heaven in a bottle." I said and he laughed.

"Just be careful love." he said placing the last plate in the cabinet.

"I will no need to worry." I said then took a sip from the glass. He walked over and sat next to me.

"This place is looking very put together." he said.

"It really is...isn't it." I said glancing at the painting on the wall. He turned to me and gave me a kiss. I didn't pull away for a while.

"Why don't we take this upstairs..."

"Honey can it wait?" I asked.

"I suppose. What do you need to do?" he asked.

"I need to fax my mother some papers and answer emails..."

"Carter you need to take a break. Just relax it can wait." he said with his charming smile.

"Work first romance later, ok?"

"Alright. I need to call Penelope anyway."

"It's one in the morning there..."

"I know but she will be awake. I'll see you upstairs soon..."

"After work." I said then went into my office and sat infront of the computer.

* * *

Max's POV

The Ten of us sat in my apartment. I invited all the guys over for drinks and to hang out without the girls. We sat around eating pizza and drinking beer while talking about the latest sports news and what was new in everyone's lives.

"Kat let you come here tonight? Even while she is sick?" I asked Spencer who was taking a bite out of a piece of pizza.

"Yeah she said that it was ok. She has been feeling better lately. She was going to sleep anyways so I came here." he said.

"Are you excited to become a dad?" Percy asked Spencer.

"Yeah I'm really excited actually. It's exciting to see Kat get excited over each doctors appointment and find out more and more each day about the baby." he said.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" I asked.

"Hmm well it would be cool to have a boy and watch him grow up and possibly play football like I did. I would also be really happy if I had a girl then she could be like my little princess and maybe be a lot like Kat in the way she is kind to everyone and fun to be around. When are you guys having kids?" he asked with a smile.

"Sadria and I are waiting for another year so her fashion career can take off. I can't wait to have kids." Connor said.

"Thalia doesn't want to have kids anytime soon which is fine with me." Nico said leaning back on the couch.

"Clarisse and I want to start to have a family in the next year or two." Chris said.

"Cool then I can be an uncle soon." I said and Chris smiled.

"Do you still think you won't have kids?" he asked.

"Actually I think I might have kids. It got me thinking the other day. I was working in the hospital and I had this patient who was a kid about ten years old. I asked him about his intrests and his life. He said his dad died in the military and that just talking to me made him feel like he had a dad. He was into football and showed a lot of the same characteristics as I did when I was his age. Point is, I realized that having kids could be cool. I would have someone to look up to me and need me to be there for them." I said.

"Then why did you keep telling Carter you didn't want to have children?" Jason asked.

"Do you ever have that feeling when you don't realize what you have until it's gone?" I asked them.

"Yes. Are you referring to being with Carter?" Percy asked.

"Yes I am. Despite everything I said to her, I am still in love with her. I can't get her out of my head, even if I try. When she came to get her stuff, it hurt. I tried to pretend I didn't care, but I did. All I wanted to do was embrace her in my arms and tell her I love her. I want her back in my life. Carter is the girl want to spend the rest of my life with. I need to tell her how I feel." I said to the guys. They all looked around and then focused back on me.

"Then tell her!" Percy said.

"Ok but when?" I asked.

"Go now. Drive over there and talk to her!" Jason shouted.

"Fine I'll go now. Where are you guys going to be?" I asked them.

"Can I crash here tonight? My girlfriend, fiancée whatever is in California." Leo asked.

"Sure you can crash here. If any of you want to crash here you can. I'll see all of you when I return, or whoever is still here." I said putting on my jacket.

"Oh please you won't be returning if all goes well." Leo said.

"You think I'm going to sleep over at her place?" I asked him.

"Please, after what happened between her and Alexander in Paris, it's likely we won't see you until tomorrow." he said.

"Can we please get off the topic of what happens intimately between you and my sister?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah it makes me uncomfortable too." Jason said.

"Sorry you two have to double as brothers to Carter but still friends with me."

"We'll just ignore the intimate details when you explain the getting back together part." Jason said.

"Cool I'll see you all tomorrow hopefully, that is if she takes me back."

"get her flowers. That's what I also do for Katie." Travis said.

"She owns a flower shop. Why do you get her more flowers?" I asked.

"Because she loves flowers. She can never get enough of them. Stop of somewhere and get her flowers. It will break the ice a little more." Travis said.

"Go get her!" Percy said.

"One problem, I have no clue where she lives." I said.

"I'll text Annabeth, she will know." Percy said. He pulled out his iPhone and his thumbs graced the keyboard then almost instantly got a reply from Annabeth.

"Does she have her address?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I'll forward it to you. Oh and Annabeth said don't fuck up this time." Percy said with a grin.

"Words of wisdom." I said.

"That's my Wisegirl. But honestly don't screw this up. Maybe if you get back together with Carter, then Thalia and Carter will reunite as best friends and sisters."

"Yeah Thalia said somethings but I would rather not repeat them. For my sake, Thalia and Carter need to reunite." Nico said.

"I'll try to accomplish my relationship with her then we can focus of her relationship with Thalia." I said then said goodbye to them and walked out the apartment. I got into my car and drove along the streets searching for a flower shop that was open. Why would a flower shop be open at 12am? I don't know but I needed to get her flowers. I saw a gas station and walked into the building and saw they sold flowers. Gas station flowers were the best I could do at 12am. I paid for them and the guy gave me a look.

"Are you trying to make up with your girlfriend?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm not the only one who buys flowers this late, right?" I asked him.

"Nobody really buys them at all. Good luck." he said handing me the receipt.

"Thanks." I said and walked out. I drove along the colorfully lit streets until I reached Carter's apartment building. I walked up and got in the elevator. I have no idea what to say to her. I'm not going to come right out and say "I love you" to her because that makes it seem like I'm desperate. I walked up to the door and gave it a knock. Here goes nothing.

* * *

Carter's POV

I lay in bed with Alexander next to me. I rested my head against his warm chest. He stroked my bare arm and kissed the top of my head. I looked into his hazel eyes and he smiled.

"I love you." he said to me. He had the most charming smile ever. His eyes were full of delight and excitement.

"I love you too." I said gazing into his eyes and his smile widened. He leaned in and gave me a long passiontate kiss. Then we heard a knock at the door. Ruining the romantic moment.

"Who in the right mind knocks on the door at 12 in the morning?" he asked.

"I have no clue. Why don't you stay here and I'll go see who it is." I said.

"In your nightgown?" he asked in a protective way.

"I'll put my robe over it. You want to answer the door in your boxers?" I asked him.

"Not really. If it's a guy, tell him that you have a boyfriend and you aren't interested." he said and I went over and gave him a kiss.

"Ok. No need to worry." I said then put on my red silk robe and slippers then walked down the stairs towards the door. I pulled down my robe as far as I could which only reached about mid-thigh and answered the door. Max stood there holding a bouquet of red roses. My night was going to take an interesting turn.

"Max what are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I came to talk to you about us. Were you in bed or do you always greet people in a short robe?" he asked.

"I was in bed thank you." I said and he gave me the flowers.

"I want to talk to you about what went wrong between us in Paris. I'm sorry I was late to the bridge and that was a huge mistake..." Max said.

"Max the bridge wasn't even that big of a deal compared to everything else. We were falling apart before Paris. You and I wanted different things and I needed to move on to someone who wants the same things as I do." I said to him.

"Carter, when I lost you, it was the worst feeling in my life. It was worse than being hurt by a monster. Watching you walk away killed me inside, but it made me realize something. I do want all the things you want. I want to get married and have kids and I want to do it all with you." he said.

"Max I'm sorry that just isn't going to happen." I said to him.

"Carter please give me another chance. I'm sorry about all the things I said. I didn't mean any of them. I love you and I know there is still a spark between us. When we were in my apartment when you came to get your things, we almost kissed. Carter please..."

"Max, I'm sorry but..." just then Alexander shouted down from the bedroom.

"Who is it love?" he shouted. Shit, now I have to deal with Max thinking I'm a whore again and will probably say the same things as he did in Paris.

"Was that Alexander?" he asked me.

"Yes. I'm with him now. I really like him. Max he wants the same things as I do and he told me that from the beginning. Despite his past, he is really nice guy."

"Do you _love _him?" Max asked.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Are you in love with him? Do you two share the same chemistry as you and I did?" Max asked.

"Yes I do love him and he loves me too." I said to Max.

"Then I wish you two the best." he said then walked out of the apartment.

"MAX! Max wait!" I said.

"Carter if you really love him then I will just try to move on." he said then walked out. I walked back upstairs. Alexander was still on the bed and I got in and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"No one."

* * *

Max's POV

I had my heart ripped out of me. As I drove home the song "When I was your man." came on. I think Apollo wants me to suffer. Worst night of my life. I lost the one person I cared about the most.

**What did you all think? Like it? Let me know by reviewing please! Love you all! Thanks!**


	30. To Vegas for a wedding

**Hello everyone! So I'm officially on summer vacation! This means a couple of things: #1 I will try to write more this summer. #2 I am leaving for Europe in about five days and I will be gone for two weeks which means that there will be no new chapters for two weeks but you can still send me messages! I don't know how often I will check my email but I can respond asap when I get back. #3 in July, I am going up to my cabin which has ok wi-fi so updating there could be difficult, but not impossible. #4 My bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u is coming in July which could mean less updating but on the upside, more ideas! Just thought I would let all of you know what is happening. I'll say something in other chapters too but I don't know if I will update again before I go to Switzerland. Sorry for the long message but thanks everyone for understanding! I love all of you and I don't own PJO!**

It has been a couple of weeks since Max came to my apartment. Honestly I still don't know what to think of that. It surprised me that he came. I wish he had told me all the things he wanted when we were a couple and maybe everything would be different now. This weekend, we were all going to Vegas to witness Leo and his fiancée's wedding. Yep, he hasn't told us who this woman is or even hinted to who she is. A huge headache surfaced as I walked over to grab my suitcase. I walked over to my bedside drawer and pulled out my bottle of Oxycontin. I swallowed two pills then threw the bottle on the bed. My headaches still seem to come and go but my need for the pills increases day by day. I love the feeling of little stress when I'm on them. I walked back over to my closet and pulled out dresses to wear around the city and the I was going to wear for the wedding. After piling up my clothes, shoes and accessories in my suitcase, I walked downstairs where Alexander sat reading the paper.

"Sleeping beauty finally awakes." he said looking up from the paper.

"Very funny but I didn't sleep in much today."

"You have slept in more lately. Is everything ok because your eyes are a little bloodshot. Also you seem a tad bit more pale. Are you sick?" he asked me.

"No I'm not sick. It is getting close to winter so my skin tends to lighten up a bit but I guess it's just from staying up late working."

"Ok well are you hungry for breakfast made some omelets."

"No thanks I'm not very hungry."

"Carter I think something is wrong with you. You don't seem quite right..."

"Alexander I'm fine! Seriously could you just relax!"

"Sorry I didn't mean to upset you. I just worry about you Carter because I love you." he said walking over to me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I'm sorry I blew up on you. My mother has just got me doing a lot of things for her and its stressing me out." I said and he gave me a kiss.

"I know what it's like love. I'm going to bring the bags down to my car and we can go to the airport when I return." he said then picked up my suitcase.

"Thank you and I will see you in a little bit." I said to him then he walked out carrying his weight in luggage. I walked over to the kitchen and took out the tomato juice and grabbed the vodka and made myself a Bloody Mary. I glanced at my phone and saw that Annabeth had texted me asking if we were on our way to which I replied soon we would be there. I grabbed my bag, chugged down my drink and walked downstairs to meet Alexander.

We drove along in his car in complete silence. He didn't say much to me and would look over with a disapproving look. We finally got to the airport and walked in to meet my friends. Kat was sitting in one of the chairs next to Spencer. She was a little over four months pregnant and her stomach showed her round baby bump. He red hair was pulled back into a ponytail while she leaned up against Spencer's shoulder. I often wonder who will be the next girl in our group to be pregnant. Sadria possibly, maybe Clarisse, Thalia probably not, Annabeth maybe but if she waited till after she was married then it would be a while, Hazel probably not, Piper same as Annabeth and me well not anytime soon. Not until I'm happily married and physically prepared. Annabeth was on the phone with her blonde curls falling down on her light blue sweater as she discussed upcoming architectural plans. Percy was talking to Max who glanced over at me but turned his head to face Percy again. I looked over at Thalia and we made eye contact but she quickly turned her head to talk to Nico. Leo walked up to me and smiled.

"Glad you two are coming to my wedding." he said and gave me a hug.

"I'm so happy for you. So who is this girl?" I asked.

"You will meet her when you get there!" he said and I laughed.

"Fine I suppose I can wait. Did I do anything wrong or is everyone purposely trying to avoid me?" I asked him.

"What do you mean? I don't think anything is going on."

"Well Thalia still won't speak to me and Nico is taking her side, Max won't talk to me either, and no one else is acknowledging my presence even when I smiled and waved. I feel like an outsider."

"Maybe it's because you have been distant to the group. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Max is probably just upset because you're with Alexander although I think Emma is meeting up with us in Vegas..."

"What! He is dating Emma now? Since when?"

"Whoa calm down. I have no idea but he asked if he could bring someone and I said that it was a chapel wedding in Vegas so no big deal. Then earlier he was on the phone and mentioned the name Emma so I assume that he is bringing her. You have Alexander anyways."

"Yeah I do have Alexander and I'm really happy I have him." I said.

"Good I'm happy for you. So do you think he is the one?" he asked.

"I'm not sure right now. I thought Max was and you see where that got us. Alexander could be the one. He and I want the same things in life and he loves me and I love him."

"Maybe there will be a wedding for you in the next year..."

"I doubt it but it's possible." I said and he smiled.

"Well I think we should start making our way to the gate." he said then we all grabbed our bags.

* * *

The plane ride was pretty uneventful. Thalia nor Max said a word to me the whole time. Everyone else did and I caught up with their lives. It was nice to talk to my friends again and learn more about what is going on in their lives. Sadria has a fashion line she is presenting in Paris fashion week which she is ecstatic about. Kat is doing well in her pregnancy and she and Spencer are looking at homes just outside of Manhattan to buy. Percy and Annabeth decided they want to get married in Santorini, Greece which I'm so excited about. Piper found a wedding dress she likes while she was visiting her dad in California and said it should arrive soon so we can all see it on her, that is the girls can. Everyone else it was same old same old. We got to Vegas and went straight to the hotel. When we got there someone was waiting for us, that someone was Emma. She ran towards Max and gave him a kiss. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. Seeing them together made me sick to my stomach. Not because Max is my ex-boyfriend but I really hate Emma. She is one of those girls that you try so hard to be kind to but no matter what happens, you still want to punch her in the face. They both walked over to me and Emma smiled.

"Hello Carter. How have you been?" she asked with a sarcastic smile.

"I've been great actually. How about you?" I asked even though I know how she has been lately.

"Oh I've been great too. Max came to visit his family in Aimesly and I guess we just fell for each other all over again." she said then glanced over at Alexander.

"I'm sorry but I don't believe we have met. I'm Alexander Winthrop-Scott." Seriously even if he is my boyfriend but when he says his name automatically it sounds like he is some stuck up snob.

"Nice to meet you I'm Emma Daley. So your Carter's boyfriend, right?" she asked.

"Yes I am. It's a pleasure meeting you." he said.

"I'm so honored to meet someone of such high authority." she said. Either this bitch is trying to steal yet another one of my boyfriends or she is just trying to piss me off. Either way it was working. Max had his arm wrapped around her waist just like he used to do with me. It is weird seeing my ex-boyfriend do things with his new girlfriend that he used to do with me. Now I understand why he was so pissed off with me when I was with Alexander. I'm not saying I'm jealous because I'm not. I have a wonderful boyfriend who I love and he loves me too.

"Max should we take our things up to the room?" Emma asked.

"Sure one second and I'll go check which room we have. Hey Leo did you book rooms all under your name?" Max asked.

"Yeah you can choose any of the rooms minus the honeymoon suite because well that's obvious." Leo replied.

"Ok cool well I'll just choose one." Max said then went up to the front desk. He came back with a room key in his hand.

"We'll be back soon just dropping everything off." Max said to Leo who gave him the thumbs up. It's even more weird to think about my ex-boyfriend sleeping with another woman. I only have to deal with it for a weekend. Alexander and I decided to go up to our room and drop our things off too. We went up the elevator and into the room which had a beautiful view of the lit-up city. As we walked out, guess who our neighbors are, yep Emma and Max.

"Well isn't this lovely." she said and grabbed onto Max's arm.

"Ok I'll be going downstairs now." Max said blushing towards me. Alexander and I went downstairs as well and saw Leo talking to a girl. The girl's back was faced towards us and Leo's face was looking at us. He said something to her and she turned around. She had long curly dark brown hair with a tan complexion and fierce yet kind brown eyes. I felt like I recognized her before like it was at the tip of my tongue.

"Everyone I would like you to meet my fiancée, Reyna."

**What did you all think? Good? Ok? Please REVIEW! Thanks everyone for reading my story. More drama is to come so be prepared. Hopefully for all of you I will have another chapter up before I leave but I can't promise anything!**


	31. A drama filled wedding

Hey** everyone! So I'm not sure how many more chapters will be posted before I leave on Friday but I will try my best to get a lot in! I know that some of you don't ship Leo X Reyna but I wanted to do it because they are complete opposites. Anyways let me know if you have ideas and PM whenever! I don't own PJO!**

"Reyna?" Jason asked with a puzzled expression. She smiled awkwardly and looked at Leo.

"I'm sure this is a shock to everyone..."

"Yes!" everyone added.

"How? You're so pretty, smart and mature and Leo is well Leo." Annabeth said.

"Thanks Annabeth that was so sweet." Leo said to her.

"He came to visit Camp Jupiter a couple of summers ago. Leo originally came to see Jason but Jason had left before Leo got there. I kept turning down his date offers. One day, Octavian was bothering me with a bunch of requests for me to do things. Leo saw that Octavian was bothering and he punched him in the face. I agreed to one date with Leo and then we fell in love. We have been together ever since." Reyna said blushing and Leo was smiling.

"We're the perfect match for each other. I teach her to live more freely and happily. While she teaches me to be more mature." he said.

"Great we're all really happy for you two." Max said. We all talked more with Reyna and Leo about their plans for the wedding the next day. All we needed to do was show up at the chapel on time. After a long time of talking we all went up to our rooms. Alexander and I fell into the bed gazing at the lights outside our room. The romantic part of it all was seeing the Vegas Eiffel tower outside the window. It reminded me a lot of Alexander's apartment in Paris. I had an interesting dream when I finally drifted off.

_I was sitting in one of the rooms in my palace in Greece. I was married judging by the diamond ring on my left finger and the diamond wedding band to match it. Not only was I married, but I was pregnant too. There were no signs of who my husband was. I walked out of the room and down the hall then saw Alexander walking towards me. _

_"Hello love how are you feeling today?" he asked._

_"I'm fine I suppose." I responded looking around the room._

_"That's good. I'm sorry I can't talk much longer but I have to meet with representatives of Germany today." he said then gave me a kiss then walked away. I married Alexander? I don't know why that came as such of a surprise. Then the scene changed. I was in one of the courtyards at the palace. I was sitting on the edge of the fountain and a baby in a stroller was next to me. The baby had bright blue eyes just like mine and had curly blonde hair. It was a boy judging by the way he was dressed. Then a little girl came running up to me. She too had bright blue eyes and long curly blonde hair. She looked to be about five years old and she was carrying a handful of red roses._

_"Mommy I found these for you!" she said holding them out in her tiny hands. She looked at me with her bright eyes. Clearly, Alexander and my children had his blonde hair and my blue eyes. _

_"Honey, look at your beautiful blonde curls. They remind me of one of my friends." I said to her._

_"I know mommy, Annabeth. That's why you named me after her." she said. I named my daughter Annabeth. That fit her perfectly. Alexander walked outside and picked up our son. _

_"Daddy can we go horsey riding today?" Annabeth asked._

_"Sure princess. Jason needs to take his nap though." Alexander said. I named my son after my brother. That fit him very well too. _

_"I think I'm going to call Annabeth." I said and Alexander laughed._

_"But I'm right here." my daughter said._

_"Not you honey. My best friend Annabeth." I said._

_"Love, you haven't talked to her in three years. Why are you calling her now?" Alexander asked. Three years since I talked to Annabeth? That seemed crazy that I would name my daughter Annabeth then not talk to her for a long time. _

_"Why don't you go get ready and I will meet you at the stables." Alexander said and Annabeth ran inside the palace._

_"I'll see you later love." Alexander said then gave me a kiss. The scene changed one last time. I was in the meeting room in the palace at the table with Alexander and what seemed to be a lawyer. I looked down and saw papers for divorce. Alexander looked upset and he looked at me._

_"Carter I love you. She meant absolutely nothing to me. I promise I only have feelings for you. She said she would raise the baby on her own. I promise you that I will be by your side and help raise our children. Please forgive me." he asked and seemed to have tears in his eyes. He cheated on me and got a woman pregnant._

_"No I cannot take you back. You cheated on me and are going to be a father to someone else's baby. For the sake of our children and myself, I want to continue the divorce process. You returned to your old ways and we don't deserve this from you."_

_"I will always love you Carter, always."_

That was the last thing that happened in my dream. My dreams always have some message behind them. Does this mean that I shouldn't be with Alexander? Was it trying to tell me that being with him will cost me my friendships and a happy marriage? I couldn't tell but Alexander rolled over smiled at me.

"Ready for a fun-filled day?" he asked.

"Oh I'm ready." I said then he gave me a kiss. All I could think about was my dream. Was it all my mind playing tricks on me? Or was it a message for my future?

* * *

I got ready in the hotel room for the wedding. They were getting married in a chapel downtown and all we had to do was show up. I put on a red strapless drape bandage dress and some red pumps. Then I put in my red crystal teardrop earrings and red bracelet to match. I grabbed my gold clutch and walked downstairs with my natural curls bouncing in my shoulder.

Alexander and I got a cab to the chapel where all my friends were. All the girls looked lovely. Piper had on a purple bubble dress with purple kitten heels and gold jewelry. Her antique diamond engagement rind stood out on her tan skin and her brown hair in a side braid. Hazel was wearing a dress that had a gold detailed bodice and a black chiffon bottom. She stuck with the gold and black theme because her earrings were gold and black intertwined circles with gold and black bangles and a huge gold and black ring. Kat was wearing a strapless pink dress that showcased her pregnant stomach. She had on fuchsia heels with a matching clutch and pink stoned and diamond earrings. Sadria wore a form-fitting cap sleeve dress with silver embellishments on the shoulders. She had green matching heels, a sliver clutch, and emerald teardrop earrings with her red-orange curls falling on her shoulders. Annabeth had a blue peplum dress on with silver dangle earrings, a silver clutch and silver ankle strap heels. Like Hazel, Thalia stuck to the gold and black theme. She wore a long-sleeved black form-fitting dress with gold embellishments. Then she had on a black bangle with gold hoop earrings and strappy gold heels. Clarisse was absolutely stunning. She was wearing a nude dress with nude heels and a matching handbag along with simple gold circular earrings.

Finally we all sat down and waited for Reyna to come down the aisle. She walked through the doors in a skin-tight long-sleeved lace wedding dress. It hit her mid-thigh and she had her hair up in a braided bun with a birdcage veil. She looked stunning along with her white lace, high-heeled, open-toe oxford shoes. Her look was perfect for the Vegas setting. She made it down the aisle and looked at Leo with a smile.

"So do either of you have vows or..." the official tried to say.

"Well um I have something like a vow." Leo said.

"I have something like a vow too." Reyna said.

"Alright here it goes. So the first time I ever met you wasn't very romantic at all. In fact, it was the complete opposite. You were mad at me for destroying your camp and escalated everything. Anyways so I thought that we would always hate each other. Then a couple of years ago, when Jason was visiting camp, I fell for you. Something about your strong, independent ways made me fall for you. I still don't understand how I got so lucky to be with a beautiful and wonderful woman like you. I promise to always be there for you and to try to make you laugh because I love you." Leo said. Most people would see those vows as weird and not romantic, but if people knew Leo they would get it.

"Leo, even though you and I are complete opposites, we make it work. Despite are problems in the beginning, we worked it out and fell madly in love. Even though I try my hardest to be strong and collected, I need to laugh a little and enjoy life. Everytime I talk you, you always know the right things to say and find ways to make me laugh. Honestly, I don't know how I could ever be happy without you. I love you and I can't wait to have a fun-filled life with you." Reyna said.

"alright, Leo, do you take Reyna to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." he said gazing into Reyna's eyes.

"Reyna, do you take Leo to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." she said with a smile.

"Then by the power vested in me and the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Leo leaned in and gave her a kiss. We all clapped and they both smiled.

* * *

We all went to dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was an Italian restaurant that also specialized in seafood. We all sat at a long table with Leo and Reyna in the center. We all talked more about how they fell in love and what their future plans were. They were both going to move to Manhattan and live there for as long as they could. All I had on my mind was that I needed a new dose of pain killers. My stomach felt sick and I was unable to sit still. I couldn't pop pills right in front of my friends. I secretly grabbed a couple of pills from my clutch and got up.

"Will you excuse me but I need to use the restroom." I said. I walked towards the restroom and I could tell that my friends were talking about me. I reached the restroom stall and popped the pills down one by one. I needed the pain to go away and I instantly felt better.

* * *

Max's POV

We all sat talking about our future plans when I looked over at Alexander who seemed a little on edge. It seems like I wasn't the only one to notice.

"Are you ok Alexander?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm fine but I don't think Carter is." he said with a nervous expression. Hearing that Carter wasn't ok automatically caught my attention. Even though Carter isn't my girlfriend anymore, I still am concerned about her well-being.

"Why what's wrong with her?" I asked him. He looked at me with worry in his eyes.

"For starters, I think she is an alcoholic. Along with that, I think she is addicted to pain killers." hearing that made my heart beat faster. My friends all looked nervous and a little worried, even Thalia.

"What kind of pain killers?" I asked.

"Oxycontin I think. She is taking it for her terrible migraines..."

"Wait what? A doctor prescribed her Oxycontin for migraines? Every doctor should know not to let anyone who might be at risk have pain killers." I said and Nico, being a Brain surgeon, nodded in agreement.

"I know it sounded crazy to me as well. I'm just worried about her health and since your a doctor, I thought maybe you could tell me ways to help her..."

"Do you have proof she is on these pills?" I asked him. I wasn't going to jump into conclusions until I saw proof.

"Yeah. She usually keeps them with her at all times. She probably has some in her clutch." he said. It would explain why she has been more pale than usual, has had bloodshot eyes and hasn't been eating much. It would also explain why she has seemed on edge. Alexander rummaged through her clutch and pulled out a bottle of pills. They were just Tylenol but some drug users put their pain killers in regular over the counter bottles to hide their addiction. I opened the bottle and looked through. Their were no signs of Oxycontin but she probably has been on it. Just then Carter walked in and looked very upset.

* * *

Carter's POV

As I was walking back to the table I saw Max talking to Alexander holding a bottle of pills. Alexander told my ex-boyfriend along with my friends about my pill-popping. I couldn't let them know about it and I had to act like I wasn't on them at all.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked Max who had a shocked expression on his face. My friends did too and looked worried.

"Carter I was just..."

"That is a bottle of Tylenol! Do any of you trust me anymore?" they all looked down at their plates.

"Carter can we explain..." Alexander tried to say. For some reason tears rushed to my eyes.

"You all are going through my bag just to see if I'm popping pills. The Tylenol is for my headaches and I guarantee all of you girls carry some in your bag, yet I'm the one who is accused for using pain killers." I said and Max just looked me in the eyes. Could he tell I was lying or was he just worried? I had to get away from my friends because I knew the questions would pour in. I grabbed my clutch and walked away from all of my friends.

"Carter can we please talk?" Alexander shouted as he walked towards me.

"Even my boyfriend doesn't trust me." I said to him then continued walking. I got to a bar and sat down. I need a drink to take away the anger. I got a glass of wine and sipped it feeling myself slowly calm down. I had a couple more but nothing seemed to change. I know I'm addicted to alcohol and my pain killers but I can't stop having them. If I stop, I feel worse than I was before I used them. A couple of pills can really make a differece in my attitude. I stared at my phone but nothing happened. I don't know what I expected. I was torn between talking to someone or staying away from everyone. Just then Emma walked up and sat in the stool next to me.

"Why the hell are you here? I don't want to talk to anyone, especially you." I said looking down at my phone and a single teardrop hit the black screen.

"Look I know we don't really get along but I wanted to talk to you." she said.

"What do you want to say? That you have Max and I don't or that you're happy and I'm not? What is it?" I asked and she looked at me again.

"Carter I'm glad I have Max but that's not what I was going to say. I think he is still in love with you and wants to be with you. I think that you still have feelings for him too. I see the way you look at each other." she said.

"Emma I'm sure he loves you so why don't you go with him and make-out in your bed. I have Alexander so I'm fine." I said. Thinking about Max with Emma made me sick to my stomach.

"Carter, I think I like someone else though." she said.

"If you try to steal another one of my boyfriends, you better back the fuck off because I actually want to be with Alexander."

"Carter I never said it was a guy." she said and I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"What?" then she did something so unexpected. She leaned in and kissed me. Not some small peck on the lips but a full on kiss.

"What the hell!" I shouted.

"Carter forget Max and Alexander, I think you're pretty hot." she said with a smile.

"Emma first of all since when were you a lesbian and second of all I don't want a relationship with you or any girl. I love guys not girls." I said to her.

"Actually I'm bi and I realized I was bi about two months ago. I experimented and found out that I liked girls just as much as I like guys." she said.

"Look it's not going to happen and um I'm just going to go upstairs to my room." I said walking away.

"Well if you ever get tired of your boyfriend, I'm always here." she said. Out of all the girls to want to be with me, it had to be Emma. I'm so done with this night I just need some rest. I walked up to the room and changed into my nightgown then crawled into bed. Alexander rolled over and tried to talk to me.

"Carter can we discuss what happened?" he asked.

"No. I just want to get some sleep, ok?" I said then shut my eyes. Once again I had another dream.

_This time I was looking out at the water which seemed to be the edge of Manhattan. I was in a house that was next to the water and it seemed to be summertime. I was also pregnant in this dream too. I looked around to see if my husband was there then I heard someone._

_"Carter I'm home!" I heard the sound get closer. Then Max walked in wearing his scrubs and carrying red roses._

_"That's so sweet of you to bring me flowers." I said and he kissed me._

_"I know the baby has been making you sick lately and I just wanted to have something to cheer you up." he said placing one hand on my stomach. The hand had a gold wedding band on his left ring finger. _

_"I love you Carter and I know we are going to make amazing parents." he said then gave me another kiss. Then like the other dream, the scene shifted. I had a baby girl cradled in my arms while overlooking the same yard as the first scene. Max was throwing a football to what I assume was our son. He had short black hair and blue eyes. The girl had my curly black hair with blue eyes._

_"Hey champ why don't we go meet mommy and Diana for lunch?" Max said to the boy._

_"Ok daddy." he said then ran up towards me and Diana._

_"Hey sweetie." Max said picking up our little girl. He smiled and held her up to the sky and brought her back down and she laughed._

_"Mommy can I have some chippys please?" our son asked._

_"sure sweetie. Just don't eat too much." I said the he looked up at me. _

_"I love you mommy." then he walked over and gave me a hug._

_"I love you too." I said then kissed his forehead. Max walked over to me and handed me Diana._

_"Hey Dallas why don't you go grab your little sister her blankie?" Max asked him. Then Dallas ran into the house._

_"How did I get so lucky?" Max said then gave me a kiss._

_"We're both lucky." I said. Once again the scene changed. I was sitting on the same deck but it was nighttime and the stars reflected on the water. Max walked out but this time he was older, maybe sixty._

_"The stars look beautiful tonight." he said looking at me then took my hand._

_"They sure do. This moment is perfect." I said._

_"I can't believe its been thirty-six years we have been together. It feels like the first time every time I look at you." he said then gave me a kiss on my hand._

_"Thirty-six and many more to come." I said and the scene faded out._

I woke up to the sun shining. Maybe Emma had a point, maybe I am still in love with Max.

**What did you all think? Was it what you were expecting or did it surprise you? Thanks to PercyAndAnnabethLOVEBUG4EVER for the idea with Emma! Let me know if any of you have ideas! Thanks everyone and check out my bff I'm-too=outrageous-4u's story A Million Reasons Why. Thanks and please REVIEW! Oh and I made outfits for all the girls check them out on my profile!**


	32. Important Author's Note!

**Hey everyone! So this is just an authors note. I'm flying to Europe today! I'm really excited to see the wonderful Geneva, Switzerland and Paris, France! However, this means I won't be updating for the next two weeks. I promise that once I get back, I will try to update often! Feel free to still send me PM's or ideas and keep reviewing. Check out my friends story A Million Reasons Why. Thanks everyone for understanding! It means a lot to me that all of you are reading my story and being there for me! I love all of you! **

** ~IrishGreekGirl**


	33. Hitting Rock Bottom

**I'm back from Europe! had an amazing time and I won't bore all of you with the details unless you want to know then you can PM me.I Do any of you actually read this stuff or do you just skip over it? I mean important things could be mentioned and you would never know. Anyways, I hope all of you found my last chapter very interesting. It was the longest chapter with about 3,700 words. I actually enjoyed writing it a lot! Please, please, please _review_ on my chapters! I like to read your comments and feedback it helps me form ideas for the next chapter or improve my writing so review (it only takes like 30 secs). Anyways so here is my chapter and I hope you enjoy it! I don't own PJO because if I did, I wouldn't throw our OTP into tartarus.**

Max's POV

I woke up next to Emma after the interesting night. The whole night all I could think about was Carter. Judging by her appearance and the way she has acted lately, I do believe she is hooked on pain killers. Just thinking about that makes my stomach knot up. I don't want her to overdose and find out that she died because she swallowed a bottle of pills. Emma began to stir in the bed then she exhaled loudly signaling that she was waking up. I had no idea where she was last night. After Carter left, she soon left too. She came back late and seemed to be a little wasted. She sat up with her blonde hair to one side.

"Morning." I said to her and she rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Morning." she said then looked at me again.

"You were out late last night. What were you doing, gambling?" I asked jokingly.

"Well I went to the bar and talked to Carter for a little bit." she said then looked at me. I was shocked. Why would my current girlfriend talk to my ex-girlfriend.

"So what did she have to say?" I asked.

"Well she asked me why I went to talk to her. Then she asked me if I was trying to rub it in her face that I have you and she doesn't. I told her that wasn't what I had in mind and that I thought you were still in love with her. "she said. In love with Carter? I wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Emma I'm not in love with Carter..."

"Max you and I both know that's a lie. You love her but you're scared to admit it. You look at her the same way your friends who are married look at each other. You have a gleam in your eyes when she walks by. If it makes you feel better, I think she is in love with you too." she said.

"In love with me? If she was in love with me then she wouldn't have turned me down when I asked her to take me back. She would have kissed me when we came face to face in my apartment. She would have turned back towards me on the bridge. She wouldn't have slept with Alexander and she would have come back to me."

"Max you don't get it. I'm sure when you were on that bridge you should have run after her and not let her get away. You would have begged her to be with you and not take no for an answer. You would have kissed her when she was in your apartment. You wouldn't have come on this trip with me. Max you both need to do something to be together. Why don't you chase after her?" Emma asked. It was a question even I don't know the answer to.

"I don't know why I don't chase after her. Maybe I feel like she would just reject me again. Also I'm slightly intimidated by Alexander. Maybe I am still in love with her but I also care about you..."

"Max can I tell you something. This will definitely help you make your decision about Carter and whether or not you want to be with her." Emma said.

"What is it?" I asked and she looked towards the ground.

"I kissed Carter last night." that was unexpected and it brought an ache to my stomach.

"You what? Wait since when were you a lesbian and why didn't you tell me? Why would you kiss my ex-girlfriend and is Carter a lesbian?"

"Max first of all I'm bisexual. I like guys and girls. Second I didn't realize I was until about two months ago. I wanted to give us a shot but I soon realized you love her. She seemed attractive to me at the time and she freaked out on me. She is not into girls. Max, I used to hate seeing you with her when she was your girlfriend. Then I realized that you really do love her and maybe you should be with her and not me." Emma said and I gave her a hug.

"Thanks Emma."

"Max why are you so intimidated by Alexander?" she asked.

"Well lets see, he is handsome, he is rich, he is royal, he has an accent, he now is nice and charming. Carter's mother loves him and he could give her things I can only dream of." I said.

"Max your selling yourself short. First of all you're very handsome, second Carter could care less about money. Sure he is royal but why does that matter? An accent is a plus but probably means nothing to Carter. You're really nice and charming too. You try your hardest to make the girls you care about feel special and you try to be romantic. So what if Carter's moms likes him. Carter seems like she isn't the girl to be caught up in materialistic things. Just tell her how you feel."

"Emma it's not that easy! She is with Alexander and she cares about him and they will probably end up together and be with each other for the rest of their lives."

"Max that isn't going to happen. Carter is in a rebound relationship right now. Those never last. I mean look at us. We are technically a rebound relationship and we are already done and its been like a week. Her relationship with Alexander won't last. Tell her you love her. Go after her right now!" she said.

"Emma I can't. Not after what happened last night at dinner. She isn't in a good condition. I need to give her space and hopefully she can get some help for her addictions." I said. Emma is right, I'm in love with Carter and I'll do anything to win her heart and trust again.

* * *

Carter's POV

Alexander walked in with two cups of tea in his hands. Then he sat down next to me and handed me the cup. It was warm and instantly made my whole body feel warm on the inside.

"How did you sleep love?" he asked as I took a sip of the tea.

"Fine. Although I had a dream that was maybe important maybe not." I said. Alexander turned and faced me looking at me with those hazel like eyes.

"Well what is about?" he asked.

"So this dream happened two nights ago. So you and I were married and I was pregnant..."

"Oh that seems happy. You and I ended up together and were going to have a baby..." he said.

"Yes but then you were too busy with government to care much about my pregnancy. Then the scene changed and I was out in the courtyard with our two kids. The first was a five-year old girl with curly blonde hair and blue eyes named Annabeth after my friend. The other child was a boy maybe one who also had curly blonde hair and blue eyes. You came out to join us and it was very happy. Then it changed for the last time. We were in the meeting room of the palace with a lawyer and it had divorce papers in front of you. Apparently you slept with another woman and got her pregnant so I decided to divorce you."

"Oh Carter I would never do that to you. I would be by your side during your pregnancies and I would be there for our children. I wouldn't sleep with other women either. Carter I love you and that wouldn't happen. What was the other dream?" he asked.

"So I was married to Max. I was also pregnant and we were living in the suburbs of Manhattan. He was really sweet and cared a lot about the baby. Then it changed and I was holding our baby girl who had black hair and blue eyes named Diana. Max was playing football with our son who was also around the age of five and had short black hair with blue eyes named Dallas. He was such a good older brother to Diana. Then Max told me how happy he was and it was peaceful looking out at the water. Then the last scene was just Max and I. We were looking up at the stars and Max and I were close to sixty. He told me how much he loved me and how happy he was." I said.

"Oh I see. So obviously you're still on love with him." he said with a depressed expression.

"I never said that. It was just a dream. If you really love me and want to have a future with me, then don't cheat on me and get another woman pregnant." I said.

"I know that. I just find it weird that you would dream about having a better future with your ex-boyfriend then your current one."

"A dream doesn't mean anything. I love you. Also after the way he and my friends, well even you treated me last night, it doesn't give much hope for Max and I."and

"I just worry about you and the amount of pills mixed with alcohol that you consume daily. You do take in many pills in one day and the amount of alcohol you have each day is high. I love you and I don't want to find my girlfriend dead on the ground from overdosing." he said.

"That won't happen. My migraines are from my genetics. My mother has them too and I just need to be on pills for it. I haven't been drunk, have I? I think the last time I was drunk was a month ago. Trust me, I'm fine."I said then gave him a peck on the lips.

"The problem is you aren't getting drunk." he said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Carter I used to be an alcoholic and I never got drunk from the large amounts of alcohol I consumed. I'm not saying that being drunk is a good thing, but with the amount you consume, I think it's possible you could be an alcoh..."

"Don't finish that sentence. I just like a couple glasses of wine during the day. That's normal."

"More like a couple of bottles..." Alexander muttered under his breath and I pretended not to hear him. For some reason my friends all seem to distrust me. Many have stayed distant from me too including Annabeth and the rest of the girls. I ignored it and walked over to my suitcase and put on a day dress and some jewelry. My iPhone rang and I walked over and looked at the screen, it was my mother.

"Hey mom, how are you?" I asked her.

"Oh I'm great honey. I just wanted to know if you were coming to Greece anytime soon." she said. She never calls me 'Honey'.

"Well I'm not really sure. I'm in Las Vegas right now for my friend's wedding and I want to avoid traveling until Kat has her baby. I really don't know when I'll visit. Um just wondering but was there something important happening in Greece?" I asked her.

"Oh well I just have news that's all." she said in an upbeat voice.

"News? What kind of news?" I asked her.

"Yes! I met someone." she said again with her upbeat voice. Even though I can't see her face, I know she is smiling.

"Really? What's his name?" I asked her.

"His name is Anthony Bonaparte." she said. Judging by the last name, he had to be linked to the royal family.

"Is he French or Italian?" I asked.

"Both. He descends from the Bonaparte heir and I have been spending more time with him." she said.

"How did you meet him? Also you aren't dating him because of his bloodline, are you?"

"Well, I attended a ball in Rome a couple of months back and I met him there. We began talking and he lost his wife almost ten years ago. He never remarried or had children so we discussed all of that and we just got along well. He asked me if he could escort me to one of the social events in France and I said yes. I am not dating him because of his bloodline. I enjoy his company and he makes me very happy." she said. It has been hard on her, me as well, losing Armand about seven years ago. She did love him and I was very close to him. It was nice to know she was happy with someone who shared her pain.

"I'm really happy for you mom." I said. I truly was happy for her, despite all of our issues.

"Thank you honey. So how is everything going in your life?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Everything is great. Alexander and I are doing great and it was really fun to see my friend Leo get married." I said lying through my teeth. I wasn't lying about Leo and Reyna's wedding, I was lying about being great.

"Oh honey that's so wonderful! I hope to see you in Greece soon and I love you!" she said.

"I love you too." I said then ended the call. I felt the need for some pills, I walked over and dumped a few into the palm of my hand and swallowed them. My pain seems to increase as the days go by. Alexander walked out of the bedroom and into the main part of the hotel room.

"Hello Love. Who were you talking to?" he asked.

"My mother. She called to ask me if I was going back to Greece anytime soon. I told her I was too busy and I don't want to miss Kat and Spencer's child being born. Also she called to tell me she has a new boyfriend." I said.

"New boyfriend? That's different. Who is he?" Alexander asked.

"His name is Anthony Bonaparte. He is French and Italian. Also a descendant of Napoleon judging by the last name."

"Oh I've met him once. He was a really nice guy. He was also very intelligent as I remember." he said.

"How old was he? Like he isn't really old or really young to be dating my mother, is he?" I asked him.

"He looked to be the same age as your mother maybe a few years older. There is no need to worry. He is a very good man." he said.

"Good. My mother needs someone like that in her life. We should probably head downstairs to meet the others." I said. We walked downstairs and all of my friends seemed to be distant from me. None of them made eye contact with me or acknowledged my presence vocally or physically. I looked over and saw Max talking to Emma. My heart beat seemed to go faster. I don't know whether it was because of what happened last night at dinner or what happened between Emma and myself but I seemed nervous inside. I brushed it off and saw Leo about to make an announcement.L

"Reyna and I want to thank all of you for coming this weekend and we want all of you to enjoy your last day in Vegas doing whatever you want." Leo said then everyone seemed to leave to do what they pleased. Alexander went to go make a phone call to his family and Leo walked over to me.

"Hey Carter, how are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Sorry about last night, I just..."

"No problem. I'm sure that its just been stressful for you with everything. Also because Max brought Emma and..."

"Oh Emma isn't the issue. I just...I just need some time to relax." I said.

"Well if you need to talk or whatever just let me know." he said and gave me a hug.

"I'm really glad I have you to count on." I said to him as he walked back over to Reyna. The rest of the day continued the way it started. I really didn't do anything and my sadness worsened. Nothing in the world could make me feel happy. I feel like I have hit rock bottom.

**So that is the chapter. Let me know what you thought by REVIEWING! Also if you have ideas, I'll take them! Love you all and thanks for reading :)**


	34. The never ending scar

**Hello readers! So I hope you have enjoyed the story up until now! Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas! I just might use them (with credit for you of course)! WARNING: This chapter is very depressing and I'm unsure how all of you will take this! I don't own PJO!**

It has been a week since we were in Las Vegas. Everyday since then, my depression gets worse. No matter what I do, I can't feel happy for myself or others. I had a terrible dream last night ago that made me feel so terrible inside.

_I was sitting in my palace in Greece when I was a child. My mother was talking to a man in a suit. She glanced over at me a couple of times._

_"How could you just leave me like this?" she asked the man._

_"Callista what choice did I have?" he asked her and my mother looked near tears._

_"You could have told me who you were before you got me pregnant! Do you know how bad I looked when I was pregnant with another mans child who wasn't my fiancé? I thought I found someone who I actually love and who loved me back. I thought you and I would have a future together but you left me. I'm just one out of hundreds of women you love." _

_"Callista I'm sorry but I told you that it wasn't going to last." the man said._

_"You said that but I know you fell in love with me and I fell in love with you too." _

_"I did fall in love but you and I both know that it would be impossible for me to stay here with you and Demitra. But every time you look at her, I hope you think of me. She is a gift Callista." he said._

_"__Do you know how difficult it is to raise her? She is dangerous to me and to the country. Many rebels come to the palace and try to kill us."_

_"Callista I can't prevent the monsters. That is something she will learn to deal with when she gets older. She can train to protect herself from creatures..."_

_"She is a princess and she will never protect herself. She has guards to protect her. I wasn't ready to be a mother at 21. I'm far too young to have a child right now and I lost my youth because of her. I regret falling in love with you and I regret having her because all of it was a huge mistake."_

_"Callista how dare you say that about our daughter!" he said defending himself and me as well._

_"I'll say whatever I want. You haven't been around to help me so you have no right telling me I can and cannot say! If you want her you take her!" she said storming off. The man glanced at me and had a depressed look on his face. He walked over to me._

_"Demitra I'm so sorry you had to see that. I promise you that I care and I will always be with you." he said then kissed my forehead and walked away. My mother looked back in the room with a look of disgust. She turned her head and walked away._

The worst part of it all was that this really happened. I was about four years old and my mother showed her true colors. She called me a mistake for most of my life. I hated my mother and in the last couple of years we have developed a better relationship. I will never forget what she said for as long as I live. All of my emotions from that moment came back to me. I cried for a while. That is what really bothers me. Everyone thinks my life is perfect. No one knows the pain I felt my whole life. All the pain was bottled up and I still haven't released it all. My demons are returning and taking over. Everything returned to me. I remember all the terrible things my mother said. I remember all the terrible things that happened to me when I was a teenager. I remember all the things Max said to me. I remember in Paris how he called me a fake and a whore. A fake? Maybe he was right. I am a fake. I'm trying to hide everything that happened to me when I was a teenager. I'm just as fucked up as my mother. My mother was a whore and she got knocked up. I'm going down the same path as my mother. I'm turning into the fake she is and has always been. I remembered all the things Thalia said to me. Thalia my sister and one of my best friends. She agreed with Max and called me a fake. It makes me wonder what all of my friends think of me. Friends. Are they even my friends? They could be pretending to be my friends just like I'm pretending to be happy. The way they have acted around me lately would explain them faking. They all have been distant towards me and Thalia won't even speak to me. Max barely says a word to me. Was my relationship with Max just an excuse for me? Before I was with Max, I was always getting drunk and always messing around with other guys. He changed me. When we broke up, so did my happiness. The same thing happened between me and Alexander. I thought Alexander was the one until he cheated on me. That wasn't all. Alexander had raped me when I was drunk. That had scarred me for life. Alexander never really loved me. He loved my body. He might love me now but he didn't use to love me. Armand was the only person who really loved me. He was always there for me to talk to and he would always make me feel happy when I was sad. Then when he died, so did my happiness. I don't think I have ever recovered from his death. For seven years I have felt some sort of sadness. It just got worse after Max and I broke up. I think it was because Max was the only other person to love me. After breaking up with him, I lost my happiness too. How could my mother try to replace the one person who loved me with someone else? No one could ever replace Armand, no one. Everyone who has ever truly loved me is gone. Armand is dead and Max won't talk to me. All my happiness is gone. I honestly feel like I have nothing else to live for. My mother will end up with some guy and she will be happy with him. My friends were all happy before I came along. They were happy when I was gone from them for the couple of weeks,. I think they could happy without me, permanently. All I do is cause drama for them. I make others unhappy so why stick around to ruin their lives? I have already ruined my own and my mothers. It's over for me. I have no will to live.

* * *

Alexander's POV

I drove over to the apartment but all I could think about was last night. Carter and I got into a huge fight over her addiction.

_I had grabbed her pills and hid them in my jacket. I've tried so long to help her break her addiction. I also got rid of the alcohol in our apartment. Carter has been looking very ill. Her eyes are always bloodshot, her body looks sickly thin from her loss of appetite, her skin looks very pale and she always has a headache. The pills don't even help her with her migraines anymore, they are just there to make her "pain" go away. She was throwing things around the room and looking around the room._

_"Where are my pills?" she asked in a frantic tone._

_"Carter you know how bad those are for you. Just calm down." I said to her. She gave me a crazed look._

_"I don't care Alexander. I need them now." _

_"I think you need to see someone about this. You look so terrible and you're obsessing over pain killers. They are controlling you." _

_"You have them, don't you?" she said then came over to me._

_ She looked me in the eye and she found the pocket where I hid the pills. I grabbed her wrist to stop her and she pulled away as the bottle flew from her hand and hit the hardwood floor. A hundred white pills scattered across the floor of our apartment. Carter raced to the ground and frantically picked up the pills._

_"Carter what the hell are you doing? Look at yourself! You're picking up pills on the ground and freaking out over a bunch of damn pills!" I screamed at her and she gave me the dirtiest look._

_"You are not one to judge Alexander Winthrop." she said with tears forming in her eyes._

_"Is this how you want the rest of your life to be? You searching for a new fix? Is this how you want your future niece or nephew to look up to you? The aunt who keeps swallowing pills? If you even make it to see your niece or nephew grow up. Carter don't you understand what these pills are doing to you? They are driving you insane!"_

_"Get out!" she screamed at me._

_"You have lost your mind! I never see the happy Carter that you and I both know. I miss the gleam in your eyes. The optimistic smile that you had across your face every time I looked at you."_

_"She's gone Alexander. She has been gone for a long time." she said tears running down her face._

_"You're pushing away the people who care about you the most. All your friends want to do is help you! All you do is push them out of your life!"_

_"I don't having any true friends Alexander."_

_"You have really lost it. They are your friends. They looked concerned about you the night I told them about your addiction."_

_"Well if they really cared then they would come and help me but I don't see any of them here."_

_"The only time I saw you truly happy was when you were with Max. He makes you happy so why aren't you with him?" I asked her and the tears began to flow more down her pale cheeks._

_"Max and I aren't good for each other. The only person I can trust is me and only me." she said._

_"Carter you need to get help and I'm here for you." I said to her._

_"I don't need you! You are full of lies. You told me you were there for me and then you go and spend our anniversary with some bitch in Paris. That was when I needed you most and you fucking left me and shattered my heart. I'm done with you and your fucking lies Alexander. I'm done with you, I'm done with Max, 'm done with my mother, I'm done with everyone! All my life has been full of broken expectations and deceit. Get the fuck out of the apartment now!" she screamed._

_"If you think I'm leaving you in the state you're in, then you're crazy. I can't let you do something we will all regret. I'm staying with you." I said and she broke down and began sobbing._

_"Fine I'm going to bed then. You can just get rid of the pills. I just need to rest." she said then walked up the stairs and into our bedroom. I went into the room and found her passed out on the bed. I lay next to her and tried to call her down._

The rest of the night we lay next to each other and I calmed her down. The next morning she seemed better. She woke up and smiled at me. We talked most of the morning and then I had to leave. All I wanted to do is hold her in my arms and try to help her with her addiction. I know what it is like to be addicted to something. I was addicted to alcohol because of the same reasons she is, I was depressed and I had a terrible relationship with my parents. I became closer with them after I went to rehab but I can't say that Carter will become close to her mother after rehab. I reached the apartment and walked up the stairs. I had a terrible gut feeling as I unlocked the door to the apartment. I opened the door and nearly died. Carter was laying face-up on the couch with an empty bottle of pills and two empty bottles of wine on the carpet next to her. I tried hard to hold back the tears and ran over to her. She was more pale then usual and she had little to no pulse. Without hesitation I dialed 9-1-1 and told them about her suicide attempt. Before I knew it, I was with all of her friends in the waiting area of the hospital. I knew Carter was depressed but I didn't realize she was suicidal. All I needed to hear was that she was ok. All of her friends had a look of despair on their faces. All of the girls were crying and I looked at Max who was desperately trying to hold back tears. Why couldn't she see that so many people love and care about her? What drove her to decide suicide was the answer? We waited for a long time to hear about her condition. I called Callista during the time and told her about Carter. All I could hear on the other line was her violently sobbing. It was so hard to tell her that her daughter tried and might have succeeded at taking her life. Both Max and Nico tried to get back to the emergency unit to check on her, but were denied access since neither of them were working today. Finally a doctor came out. The look on his face was terrible. The only thing running through my mind was "Carter is dead."

"I have some news about your friend..." he began to say and everyone stood up and looked at him. "She was in a terrible, life-threatening condition. Luckily, we were able to remove the toxins from her body before it was too late. She is alive but in a medical induced coma for the next day or two. Once she wakes up, we will run some tests then she will undergo a rehabilitation program to end the addiction and hopefully return her body to a normal state. All of you are very lucky, if it had been about fifteen minutes later, then she would not have survived. Visitors will be allowed in a few hours but no more than two at a time." he said then walked away. Everyone was so relieved but most seemed to have a lot of guilt.

"She didn't seem that bad." Sadria said wiping tears away from her bright blue eyes. Connor wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"This is my fault." Thalia said trying to wipe away her tears.

"No its mine because of what happened between her and me." Max said.

"Its neither one of your faults. She was mentally unstable and no one is to blame." Nico said to the two of them.

"Did she write a letter?" Annabeth asked with tears still running down her tan skin.

"Yes she did. All of you can read it for yourselves." I said to them. As she was taken to the hospital, I found a letter on the counter. I passed it around but it read:

_To whoever reads this letter,_

_Well obviously the stress of life got to the better of me. My life was like the labyrinth, I was lost and confused and couldn't find my way out. I kept taking the wrong turn down the wrong tunnel and got my self lost. At one point I had a golden string to guide me towards the right way but it snapped at I found myself in the same darkness lost, scared and confused. All I wanted was a way out. I just wanted to say that my "friends" are not the ones to blame for this. Thalia, I know you and I had a fall out and I hope you can forgive me for all the things I said and or did. I love you sis! Spencer and Kat, I hope that your baby is just as wonderful as you two are! To the rest of my friends, I am glad I experienced the fun times we had together. Max, I don't blame you at all for any of this. I was in a dark place for a long time and our break-up wasn't the cause of my depression. I wish you the best with whomever you choose. Alexander, despite our rough start, I'm glad you became the person you are today. Thank you for being there to help me. If there is anything to blame for my decision, then it would be my childhood. I lived in a wonderful palace with a neglectful mother. She lied to me most of my life and she never wanted me to exist. She is the source of my sadness and anger. Things could have been different if she was there for me. The only person to truly show me compassion during my childhood was Armand. He was there for me in my best and worst times. Even though I wasn't his blood-daughter, he cared for me and loved as if I was his own. Losing him took a toll on my state of mind and made me lose a huge part of myself. If my mother is to read this, then I'm sorry I was a huge mistake to you and that I'm sorry for being a burden to you for the last twenty-four years. To all of you who showed me affection and compassion through all these years, thank you and I will never forget those wonderful memories. _

_~Carter_

Everyone lost it after reading her letter. Without even realizing, a lot of time passed and we were allowed to visit her. Everyone went in as couples except for myself and Max. I let him go in before me and the look on his face was full of guilt. Even though Carter said that her break-up with him wasn't the reason for her depression, it made her depression become worse than it was before. I felt a lot of guilt too. I wish I was there for her more. I know that after she still loves Max more than she loves me. All I want is for Carter to be happy and she is when she is around Max. The main reason for that is because I think she sees many of the same qualities in Max as she admired in Armand. After she lost Armand, she turned to Max for her affection but in a different form. After she lost Max, then she felt like she lost the only two people who ever loved her. Carter didn't realize all the people who loved her and hopefully when she returns from therapy and rehab, she will see all the people who truly love her. She needs happiness to fill her void of darkness.

**I warned you that this chapter would be depressing. I felt this chapter was really important for the story as a turning point in my main character's life. This is probably the worst it will get in this story. PLEASE _REVIEW_!** **Thanks everyone and please please please if you think you may have depression or know someone who has depression, get help! Don't be afraid to ask for help and I am always here for all of you because I love and care about all of you! Thanks everyone :)**


	35. I face the past

**So the last chapter was very depressing. I promise all of you that it will get better! So parts later on will be sad but not like the last chapter! I wanted to take a twist in the story! So I hope that you all love the rest of this story! I'm hanging out with my best friend I'm-too-outrageous-4u most of this week so updating will not be as often but she is giving me a lot of ideas! Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

I woke up in what looked like a hospital bed. I had things hooked up to me and all I could think about was that I lived. I wanted my life to end and I still feel that way now. I thought for a fact that my method would work. I had two full bottles of wine and the entire bottle of pills. I agree trying to commit suicide was a selfish act. Honestly I don't care. My whole life I have been taught that you put everyone else's needs before yours. At least that is what my mother taught me. Funny how ironic that statement was. When I was dying, it's true, my whole life flashed before my eyes. I could picture things that happened to me when I was little, the things that happened to me when I was a teenager and the things that happened to me as a young adult. I also pictured my friends and their lives without me. The one person I focused the most on was Max. All I could think about was him spending his life with a new woman and them starting a life together. That is the last thought I had before I went under. I looked around the room and wondered why the fates decided to give me another chance. I heard a click on the door handle. A middle-aged man who was balding was carrying a clipboard and wearing periwinkle scrubs with a bleach-white lab coat.

"It is nice to see you are finally up Miss Spiros." the man said and walked over to the side of the bed. He pulled up a chair and clicked his pen while holding up his clipboard.

"Why did you save me?" I asked him and he looked up and smiled at me.

"Because Miss Spiros, I'm a doctor and it's my job to help and save my patients. You're a young woman with a long life ahead of you. You have many people who love and care about you." he said and I laughed in my head about many people loving me.

"Many people who love me? I don't think you understand..."

"Oh I understand. All of your friends came to sit in the waiting room for hours. They all were so relieved and happy to hear that you would live. I'm sorry you couldn't see that so many people love you at the time of your big decision to end your life." he said.

"No because I couldn't find one thing worth living for." I said.

"I'm sure if you really look hard, you will find something that brings you joy. The thing that you love the most, or person you love the most is probably one to have caused you pain. Love is a hard thing to understand. One day everything is amazing and the next it all falls apart. However, love is the one thing worth fighting for. Trust me Miss Spiros, your friends wouldn't have cried and waited for hours on end to hear about your condition if they didn't love you." he said and that actually brought a small smile to my face.

"Thanks for the comforting advice. Are all of them still here?" I asked him. He chuckled at the question.

"No, but only because I had to ask them to leave. I told them that it was bad for them to wait around in the seats for a couple of days with little to no sleep. I told them I would call once we had news on your condition." he said.

"But they wanted to stay?" I asked and he smiled.

"Yes they were all anxious to hear how you were doing. We ran some tests on your blood while you were under and found that you had an extensive amount of oxycontin in your blood system. So you want to tell me why or how you got onto Oxycontin?" he asked.

"Well I went to a doctor to find a cure for my migraines. She prescribed me Oxycontin as a remedy but it ended up ruining me. I was addicted to it when I was younger so I knew what I was getting into when I took it." I said.

"I see. Well as part of your recovery program, you are going to have to attend a rehab program that analyzes your addictions and the causes of them and hopefully put you on a path to recovery." he said.

"Thank you. I wasn't so happy to realize I made it through the overdose but you made me realize that there is more to life then what I saw and experienced."

"I'm just glad that you are alive and should make a full recovery. I will have a nurse come in later to talk to you about the rehab facility. The next time I see you, I hope it is for a happy event like the birth of your future child and not a drug overdose." he said and I smiled.

The door shut and I took a long breath. I fell asleep and I was awoken by a nurse who discussed my plans for recovery. That night I had Alexander bring over a bag for me to take to the rehab facility. I talked to him for a while about what went wrong and he sat there silent, then he gave me a kiss.

"Carter I'm just happy you're alive. The moment I found you in the apartment, my heart dropped. I just want you to know that I'm here for you and so are your friends. We all just want to see you get better." he said and brushed the loose curl out of my face.

"Thank you Alexander. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now." I said and he looked at me with a straight face.

"Well if it wasn't for what I did to you during our teenage years, things could have turned out differently." he said with a quiet and saddened tone.

"Alexander you weren't the reason this happened. I mean it played a small part but the main reason was my mother and all the growing up with no privacy."

"I'm really sorry Carter for everything I did to cause you pain. I regret all the stupid mistakes I made when I was younger. You were and are an amazing person and I took advantage of that. I'm so sorry can you forgive me?" he asked and I smiled at him.

"Of course I can forgive you. I know we had a lot of things happen between us throughout the years but I think we are at our best right now." I said and he smiled at me.

"Yes but I realize that I'm not the one for you. I can tell you are still in love with Max and he loves you back." he said.

"Your right. I do still love him and that feeling never left. I'm sorry that it didn't work out between us..."

"Carter it's ok. All I want us for you to be happy and you have made me a better person in the long run and I thank you for that." he said and kissed me on the cheek.

"Alexander, there will always be a special place in my heart for you but I think remaining friends is the best solution right now."

"I agree. After you go through rehab, I hope you end up with your prince charming." he said and gave me one last smile then shut the door behind him. I changed into a pair of jeans with a long-sleeved shirt and scarf then slid on a pair of brown boots and grabbed my bag. A nurse came and got me and prepared me for my rehab program. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the one face that has been on constant replay in my mind, Max. He was in his scrubs the same periwinkle ones along with the white coat that my doctor wore. He looked over at me and smiled. As the nurse was running through information I watched him walk up to me.

"I'm glad to see that you are up and looking so much better than before." he said and gave me the bright smile.

"Yes I'm sure I look better than my almost dead self. will you let everyone know I'm ok?" I asked and he lightly touched my arm.

"Of course I will. Also I want to talk to you after the rehab program and maybe try to help you with your recovery." he said while looking at me. I could tell he was looking into my eyes which were full of tears and he looked to have some tears begin to form in his eyes but he quickly brushed it off.

"I would like that a lot." I said and the nurse motioned to me that I needed to leave. I walked up to Max and embraced him in a hug. I could feel his arms wrap around me and then I smiled at him and walked away.

* * *

I arrived at the rehab facility which was in a secluded part of New York near a forest. It was very calming and I walked in and was immediately greeted by a kind group of women.

"Welcome Miss Spiros, we will show you where you will be staying for the next month." one woman said as I followed her to a room. The room was nice and relaxing. It faced the forest and had a desk with a t.v. and a double sized bed. The room also had a small bathroom connected to it.

"Thank you so much for all of this." I said to her and she gave me a warm smile.

"As long as you feel welcome and relaxed, we will try to help you throughout the process." she said. I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I needed some rest.

* * *

I woke up and began a day full of recovery. The first thing I had to do was talk to a therapist. I was guided to a room that smelled like lavender. A woman sat in a chair with a clipboard in hand. She looked up and motioned for me to come in.

"Welcome Carter, please take a seat." she said as I sat down. "From what I have read, it seems that you suffer from a severe case of depression. I think it would benefit you to talk about your life and things that have bothered you throughout your life. To begin why don't you tell me more about yourself." she said.

"Well, I was born the princess of Greece with the name of Demitra. My mother was about 21 at the time and she was married to a man, Armand who was about eight years older than herself. I was the result of my mother having an affair with another man. Her affair ended with her becoming pregnant and ashamed at what she did. Her father and Armand found out about the affair after she told them she was pregnant with the mans baby. Her father was angered by her but her husband Armand excepted it and promised to stay by her side. So I was born and my mother wasn't ready to be a mother. My whole life I was raised by the maids and the other workers at the palace instead of my mother."

"I see was Armand around to help raise you?" she asked in calm voice.

"Yes he was. Well, Armand was very busy with politics and ruling the country but when he could, he would spend time with me."

"So you developed a strong relationship with your step-father. However there was little to no relationship with your mother..."

"My mother kept calling me a mistake and I heard her say that to others and to my face. I was so mad with her throughout the course of my life. Neither Armand nor my mother told me that I wasn't Armand's birth daughter until I was about 13. It hurt to see my step-father had kept this secret from me for so long. To add onto that, I grew up in the public eye. Nothing we did was private. If we went into town just to take a short walk, there were always cameras from the paparazzi following us. When I was about 15 years old, I began to rebel. I would drink more at parties and I didn't really care about what others thought of me. Close to my 16th birthday, I began dating Alexander Winthrop who was British royalty. I knew him growing up from my mother meeting with his family but I didn't develop feelings for him until I was about 15. So we dated for a while. Little did I know at the time that Alexander was a player."

"So you turned to Alexander to find love and acceptance."

"Yes I thought he would be the one to show me that there is someone out there who cares about me. Well, on our sixth month anniversary, he decided to go to Paris and have dinner with another girl. That made me extremely upset and made me question my trust for others. Around the same time, I developed depression. I thought that no body really cared about me and I just got tired of trying to find someone who cared. So my drinking continued but then I got hooked on pain killers. I got them from the son of a diplomat and I instantly got addicted. Well along with that, I was angry with Alexander so I began sleeping with a lot of guys. It sounds terrible to think about that but that is what happened. Things got worse from then on. I got into a major fight with my mother one night and I got extremely drunk. I had no idea what was going on but I went to talk to Alexander. That night he too was drunk but he raped me. My life spiraled out of control and I wanted all of it to stop, permanently. Luckily I talked to Armand before I did anything and told him about my addictions to alcohol and pain killers. He found a place for me to get help and my addictions ended."

"Then ended but only for a little bit. So what happened next?" she asked, fascinated in my life.

"Once I returned back home, my relationship with my mother got slightly better. My parents and I were invited to be guests of honor at a New York dinner. The three of us got there and while there I decided to attend a summer camp." Obviously I couldn't tell her what really happened but it was as close as I could get to the truth.

"While at summer camp, I made a new friend, Max. Max was the first person to truly be nice and hang out with me. I began to like him as more than a friend. He asked me to the camp dance and that night he asked me to be his girlfriend and expressed his feelings for me. To be completely honest, I didn't think the relationship would last. I wanted to find a guy to keep my mind off of Alexander. Max and I dated over the course of the summer and I eventually ended up staying in Manhattan for a year to go to school. However I went back to Greece with all of my friends for my 17th birthday. There my mother said that Alexander and I were going to be engaged and I got really frustrated with her."

"Did you get frustrated over the engagement to Alexander because you were trying to forget him or were you frustrated at your mother for setting up an arranged marriage for you?" she asked.

"I was mad that of all the people she could have chosen for me, she chose Alexander. At that point I realized I really loved Max and I didn't want to be married off to someone I didn't love. I think I was also upset that she was once again putting her needs instead of mine. She wouldn't listen to me and tried to ignore me. I finally stood up to her and then she, with Armand's persuasion, allowed me to got to New York. I had made a lot of amazing friends and Max and I truly fell in love with each other. I was so happy until about February. My mother called me and told me that Armand died from a heart attack. My whole world collapsed and I think I have never really been the same since."

"You lost the one person you felt really close to and the first person to ever show you true signs of affection. It can take a toll on a person's mental state."

"Losing Armand was one of the worst things in my life. Eventually I graduated school and became Queen of Greece. I stayed in touch with my friends and I was still dating Max. About the time I was 20, my mother decided it was time for Alexander and I to get married." I explained all the drama that surrounded that and in the end how I chose to be with Max. I also explained to her about Max's family and the drama surrounding that. I explained more about what happened throughout the years up until recently with all of my friends getting engaged and married.

"I was really happy for all of my friends that were getting married or engaged. I kept wishing that Max would pop the question until finally I confronted him about marriage. He told me that he didn't really want to get married or have children. This killed me inside because I pictured spending the rest of my life with Max. Eventually, my best friend Annabeth, who like Max didn't want to get married, got engaged to her longtime boyfriend. I think that really made me think that it was now or never for Max and I to get married. I envied all of my married friends and all my engaged friends. We all decided to take a trip to Paris to celebrate Percy and Annabeth's engagement. While there, Max and I got into a huge fight. I told him that I couldn't be with someone who didn't want to get married or have kids. I ended up breaking up with him and going to a bar. There I met up with Alexander and got drunk. I ended up sleeping with him and that began my second spiraling out of control phase." I said and she looked at me while writing some things down on the clipboard.

"To back-track slightly, why do you think you have such an obsession with marriage and starting a family?" she asked.

"I don't really know why I'm so obsessed with it actually..."

"Do you think it's because it represents love and affection from someone else?" she asked and it made me think.

"I think I want to get married because I love Max and I want so bad to marry someone for love. My mother had an arranged marriage and she cheated on her husband. I think my obsession with having a family is because it represents everything I didn't have. I want to be a supportive mother to my children and be there for them since I only had Armand to support me when I was growing up. I want to be everything my mother wasn't to me. I guess having a family would show me that there are people who accept and care about me." I said.

"I think you have just answered a question of yours that probably has taken a toll on your life. So you said your break-up with Max began your spiraling out of control. Why then? Why not after Armand died?" she asked.

"I realized that Armand was the first person to love me. After he died, Max was the one person who showed me the most love. I think he took the place of Armand in my heart. Of course I view them in different ways of love. Armand was paternal love and Max is a partners love. I think that once Max and I broke-up, I didn't have that love and affection from anyone and it took a toll on me."

"So what made you decide that suicide was the right answer? Why not mend your relationship with Max?"

"After the one night in Paris, being with Alexander reminded me of my past and at the time of our previous relationship, I was in the same mental state. I decided that Alexander wasn't the guy for me and around that time my relationship with my friends became more distant. I honestly felt like no one cared about me. I lost Armand and I lost Max so I felt that anyone who ever loved me was gone and if I had no one to love me or no one I could give my love too, then why live? I felt that I was born a mistake to my mother and I thought that my whole life was a mistake that never should have happened."

"Do you still feel that way?"

"No. When I woke up in the hospital, the doctor told me how he had to beg my friends to leave the hospital because they didn't want to leave me. Then as I was leaving, I saw Max since he is an E.R. doctor. The way he looked at me showed me that he is still in love with me. That despite our break-up and me moving on that he never stopped thinking about me and that he well loves me."

"Do you still love him?" she asked and that question played over and over in my head. After all that Max and I have been through, both the good and the bad, was I still in love with him?

"Yes. I am and think I will forever be, in love with Max."

**So this chapter is almost a recap of everything that happened in Carter's life but I added more explanation to it. I hope all of you enjoyed reading it. It was way longer than I had planned, close to 4,000 words! By far my longest chapter and I promise that it will get much better from here. If any of you have ideas let me know and please _REVIEW! _Thanks everyone!**


	36. Bonding with Anthony

**Hey everyone! Hope all of you are good! So last chapter was a recap of everything that has happened in Life as a Royal Demigod and Life as a Royal Demigod in NYC. I mentioned that I'm with my best friend who is giving me ideas for way later on in this story or possibly another sequel. Anyways if you have input or ideas let me know! Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

I have been in rehab for about three weeks now. The doctors say that I have made amazing progress and will be allowed to leave the facility tomorrow. I will have to go in for weekly check-ups just to make sure I haven't had an pills or alcohol in my system and I don't have suicidal thoughts. Being here really takes my mind off things. The outside view is just beautiful. Everything outside is green, mainly trees but it looks so tranquil. I haven't had to deal with anybody and I have talked through all of my problems. My depression has gotten better and I'm not suicidal anymore. Obviously my depression will take time to go away but for now it has gotten at least 50% better than three weeks ago. My whole room is filled with flowers from all of my friends. Looking at them brightens my mood. However one person didn't send me flowers. That person is Max. Not that I expected anything from my friends but I find it weird that someone who I thought really cared about me would show no sign of care for me. It doesn't matter anyway because tomorrow I'm flying to Greece. I decided that I need to confront my mother on all the things that have bothered me my whole life and hope to resolve some of the conflicts between us. There was a knock on my door and one of the nurses walked into the room.

"Hello Carter how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Much better thank you." I said and she smiled.

"Are you ready to go tomorrow?" she asked and I looked around the room.

"Yes I think I'm ready. It's hard to believe it has been three weeks. It went by so fast but I feel much better."

"That seems to happen a lot with patients. I hope everything goes well for you in Greece. If you have any questions for us feel free to contact us."

"Thank you for everything. I feel so much better and I'm happy to be living a healthier lifestyle." I said.

"I'm happy to hear that. We will see you tomorrow." she said then walked out of the room. I turned off the lamp and drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning I gathered everything and left the rehab facility. It was nice to feel free again. I walked into my apartment and dropped off all the vases of flowers on the counter. I grabbed a few more things for Greece and then drove to the airport. After a long flight, I was back in my home country. I always enjoy being back in Athens. I got to the airport and who was I greeted by? The paparazzi. I tried to cover my face and make it to my car. They kept asking me questions on my depression and my addictions and I just kept my head down and continued to walk. I have no idea who told them about my condition but that didn't matter. All that matters is that I make it to the palace without being mobbed. I pulled up to the palace gates and more paparazzi were standing there awaiting my arrival. One of the guards came to my rescue and helped me into the gates as they shut on the mob of fakes with cameras. I thanked him and walked inside to the palace. My mother stood there talking to a middle-aged man with curly black hair, tan skin and a dark neatly trimmed beard. My mother stood there with her black curls on her shoulders and she was wearing a gold jacket with a matching skirt and heels. Even with the heels, the man was slightly taller than her. They turned to look at me. My mother walked up and gave me a big huge.

"Demitra you're home!" she said then gave me a kiss on the cheek. She pulled away and looked at me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking at the moment but she stood there staring at me. Finally she motioned for the man to walk over to us.

"Demitra there is someone I want you to meet. This is Anthony Bonaparte." she said and the man smiled. He stuck out his hand and I shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Demitra." he said.

"Pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Bonaparte."

"Please call me Anthony." he said and I smiled. We walked into one of the sitting rooms and sat down.

"Demitra I would love to learn more about you." Anthony said.

"Yes I would love to learn more about you as well. Do you mind if I talk to my mother in private for a little while?" I asked him.

"Not at all. I will talk to you two later." he said and smiled at me and my mother.

"You wanted to talk to me in private? About what?" my mother asked in an innocent tone.

"Why I did what I did." I said to her and she seemed to tense up at that comment.

"Demitra do we really need to discuss this now?" she asked.

"Yes because it is important I tell you." I said to her and she frowned at the comment.

"Alright I will listen." she said and turned to face me.

"Do you remember the day when I was about four years old and you were talking to my father, Zeus?" I asked her and she seemed worried.

"I don't believe I remember that day." she said in an innocent tone.

"Cut the crap mom. You and I know damn well you remember that day." I said raising my voice because of my anger towards her.

"Demitra how dare you say that to me!" she said.

"Don't you even try to play the innocent card on me. I was about four years old and I was sitting in one of the main rooms with my doll. You were standing infront of me talking to Zeus. In that conversation you told him how you regretted your relationship with him and how I was a huge mistake that never should have happened."

"Demitra I..."

"That wasn't the last time you called me a mistake. My whole life that is what you said to me. How you wish that you didn't have me as a daughter. I will never forget that day mother. The word 'mistake' runs through my head anytime I feel down on myself. How can I be expected to love myself if my own mother doesn't love me? I'm just a huge disappointment to you!"

"Demitra that isn't true! I love you!"

"Then why don't you show me you love me? Why didn't you tell me you loved me throughout my childhood? You never said that to me. I'm not good enough for you. Nothing I do is good enough!"

"Demitra..."

"I didn't have a good enough boyfriend for you so you got me a rich fiancé instead!"

"You think that Max loved you for your personality? He loved you for your money!" she said.

"No he didn't! He loved me before he found out I was royal. He doesn't care if I'm apart of the Greek Royal family. He loves me for me! Why is it so difficult for you to see me happy? When I broke up with him I'm sure that made you so happy inside. But the truth is, I love Max and if I could I would spend the rest of my life with him. I know he loves me too and I hope to work things out with him when I get back to Manhattan." I said.

"I don't take pleasure in your misery Demitra. I really do love you and I'm sorry I never expressed that. When I got the call that you attempted suicide and the doctors thought you wouldn't live, it killed me inside. I know that I was a terrible and still am a terrible mother. I suppose the reason I was so mad at you for wanting to be with some poor guy from Texas..."

"Arizona."

"Whatever, it's because I envy you finding true love. I was married off when I was only 19 years old and to a man I didn't really know or had any feelings for. I was just angry that you found someone who loves you for you and not for the money. I'm that I failed you as a mother and I'm the reason you wanted to kill yourself. I love you sweetie." she said then embraced me in a hug.

"I love you too mom." I said and she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Demitra I promise I will make it up to you. I promise to be a better mother and to be a good grandmother to your future children." she said.

"It will take some time for me to forgive you but this is a good start." I said and she hugged me again. We walked out of the room and saw Anthony. My mother walked over to him and he kissed her cheek. He then walked over to me and stood there awkwardly until I gave him a hug.

"I was unsure how I should greet you." Anthony said.

"A hug is fine." I said. A maid walked over and was speaking something to my mother is a quiet tone.

"It seems that I need to make a few phone calls. Why don't the two of you do something this afternoon together?" she suggested.

"Yes Demitra I would love to get to know you." Anthony said.

"Alright then. Why don't we go do something and we can learn more about each other?" I asked.

"Sounds wonderful to me." he said.

"Do you like to ride horses?" I asked him and he smiled.

"Oh I love to ride. I assume you do as well?" he asked and I nodded in agreement. We walked to the stables and I ran over to my horse Pegasus. Anthony got on another horse and we rode out around the palace.

"Oh the first thing you should know about me Anthony is that I prefer Carter over Demitra." I said and he smiled.

"Ok Carter. So you're 24, correct?" he asked.

"Yes I am. Next August I will be 25. Anthony do you have any children?" I asked him and his smile seamed to fade.

"No I don't. My wife was unable to have children so we never did. I'm the only child so I have no nieces or nephews either."

"Oh I'm sorry. Well I can be like your daughter if you want."

"Yes you would be the first thing to a child I have ever had. I hope to learn more about you. So I will ask extremely basic questions that seem boring but they tell me a lot about you. So what is your favorite food?" he asked.

"Green curry with tofu. I have always loved that food especially since I'm a vegetarian. After I answer, you should say your answer to the question." I said.

"Ok mine would be lobster bisque. Your favorite color?" he asked.

"Red. I love it because yes it can represent bad things like blood or tragedy but to me it represents love. It is one of the colors when seen your heart beats faster."

"That's interesting I never knew that. Mine would be green. I really enjoy nature so green is fitting for me. So who is your best friend or friends?"

"My best friends who be Annabeth and Thalia. I have known them since I was 16. You?"

"I don't really have a best friend. I have many close friends from around the world. Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked with a big smile.

"Not now. I was dating Alexander Winthrop but we ended our relationship when I went to rehab."

"Oh yes I know the Winthrops. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable if I ask this but who is Max? Your mother mentioned something about him."

"Max is one of my close friends who also is my ex-boyfriend and the guy I'm in love with." I said.

"Ex-boyfriend? If you're still in love with him, does that mean he broke up with you?" Anthony asked.

"No I broke up with him. Let me explain my relationship with Max. So when I was 16 I went to this summer camp. Max came along and befriended me. For the fourth of July, there was a dance and Max asked me to the dance. That night we kissed and he became my boyfriend. Well when I brought him and my other friends to my 17th birthday ball, my mother disapproved of my relationship with him, however Armand supported it and allowed me to live in New York to go to highschool for a year. Max and I dated for that year and continued dating even with me becoming Queen and not being able to see him much. We dated for close to seven years. All of my friends are either married or engaged. So I figured he would pop the question soon. I was wrong. He didn't want to get married or have children. These are two very important things to me. I got so mad with him that at the beginning of last month, we all went to Paris to celebrate our friends engagement. While in Paris, Max screwed up and I broke up with him."

"Wow you have a lot of history with this guy. You still love him?"

"Yes I'm still in love with him. I want to get back together with him. I just hope he has changed his mind on marriage and kids."

"I hope so too. So what is Max like?"

"Well he is 6'2, has a tan body with major muscles and a six-pack, dark brown almost black hair, blue eyes and a kind smile. He is very funny, romantic, smart and caring. He is an E.R. doctor and went to Princeton University. He has a twin sister named Clarisse and they are from a small town in Arizona called Aimesly. He is so sweet and has a huge heart."

"He sounds like a nice young man."

"He really is."

"I hope that the two of you can work out your differences and get back together." Anthony said.

"Thanks. I really do care about him. I hope he still feels the same way about me."

"I'm sure he does Carter. I'm glad I got to know you more."

"I'm glad too. I think you and my mother are really a great pair." I said and he smiled.

"Thank you Carter." he said. We finished our ride and walked back into the palace to talk to my mother. They talked more about their relationship and I talked more about my progress and everything that happened. I went upstairs to my bedroom and laid on the bed. I looked at some of the pictures on my phone and came across one from my anniversary with Max. We both looked so happy and in-love. It took me a minute to realize but the same look Max was giving me in this photo was the same look he gave me at the hospital three weeks ago. Maybe there is hope for Max and I to get back together.

**So what did you all think? Not my best chapter but it's not terrible. Let me know if you have an idea for my story and please review :) Thanks everyone :)**


	37. The happiness returns

**Hey everyone! So I have had a busy couple of weeks! My best friend I'm-too-outrageous-4u was in town and sadly she had to leave :( On the plus side we came up with many ideas that could possibly turn into a third story. I'm almost positive I will write that story separate from this one. Anyways, thanks everyone for reading my story! It means a lot to me! I don't own PJO!**

I spent about a week in Greece. I bonded more with Anthony and he seems to be an amazing guy. He really makes my mother happy and he is overall a good man. He was telling me that he is officially moving into the Greek palace with my mother. He would travel between Italy and Greece for business but would mainly live in Greece. I too am going to live in Greece. I decided that New York is amazing but I need to get my life back on track and maybe returning to my home country might help me with that. I packed a small bag with my clothes in it to take to New York. After a long flight, I was back in Manhattan. I walked up to the apartment and unlocked the door. The vases of flowers were all going strong and filled the apartment with a nice mixture of pleasant smells. I called the landlord to discuss ending my contract. I signed all the papers and I needed to move out in one week. I returned to my apartment and made myself a salad. As I was watching t.v., someone knocked on my door. I walked over to answer it and opened the door to reveal a smiling Max holding a vase of red roses.

"Is now an ok time to talk?" he asked.

"Come on in." I said and he placed the vase of roses on the counter along with the other vases.

"The roses are beautiful. Thank you so much for them." I said to him and he looked at the other vases.

"It seems I was the last one to give you flowers."

"But roses are my favorite and no one else gave me any." I said and he smiled. I motioned for him to come sit next to me on the couch. He walked over and sat down then turned his body to face me.

"So how are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm much better. I still have a little bit of depression but the worst of it is gone. Also I have been sober for four weeks and I haven't even touched my pills for four weeks either."

"That's great Carter. So I'm curious about what caused you to become depressed to the point of attempting suicide?"

"Well my depression began when I was around 15 and 16. My mother and I have always had problems. She called me a mistake and never wanted me. She didn't care about what I did and left the staff to raise me. I just was tired of hearing her lies and I turned to alcohol and pill popping to cope with my issues. At the same time I was dating Alexander. He cheated on me multiple times while dating me. That caused me to feel upset and betrayed. One night he raped me while I was drunk and he was too. That caused many issues for me. I eventually got help for my addictions then and my depression went away. That was around the time I came to New York."

"I didn't realize that you had depression before I met you."

"Yeah depression runs in my family. My grandmother had it, my mother had it and might still suffer a little bit and I have it. Well when Armand passed away, the depression returned. I couldn't deal with losing the one person who showed me love and cared about me. It would fade in and out. Then when we went to Paris, it seemed to return. When I decided to break up with you, that sent me over the edge."

"So I'm part of the reason your depression came back?" he asked and seemed to have guilt in his tone.

"No, I mean the reason I broke up with you was the major differences between us. I was hoping you were going to propose to me at the love bridge but you didn't. Instead you told me how you didn't want to get married or have kids. I can get back to that later. Anyways, I broke up with you and in a way you represented Armand. He was my step-father of course but he was the only person to show me true affection until I met you. You were the only other person to love me after Armand. After losing him, I turned to you for that love and then I lost you and I felt the same way I did when I lost Armand. I was really upset with myself and I turned to alcohol to help me through that. Also being stupid, I called my ex-boyfriend and slept with him that night because I had lost it."

"By the way I am so sorry for everything that I said to you during Paris. I told myself that if your depression got worse because of me I could never forgive myself."

"Max it's ok. I forgive you for everything you said. I was really screwed up and I just shouldn't have done all of those things. So, after Paris I asked Alexander to move in with me. He agreed and came over to live here. Then I decided to see a doctor about my migraines since they got worse around that time. I was shocked that she prescribed me pain killers but at the same time I wanted them so badly. I instantly got addicted and my past repeated itself. I had many mental breakdowns and the stress and sadness took over. I thought nobody cared about me and wouldn't care if I wasn't around. I decided that maybe my mother was right, I was a mistake and decided that it was the end. I took a whole thing of pills and drank two bottles of wine to end it all."

"What were your thoughts as you were dying? Like thinking about everything that went wrong or what?"

"Yes and everyones lives without me. Actually you were the last thing on my mind before I went under. I thought about how happy you would be with a new woman and a new life with her." I said and he looked me in the eyes as tears began to form in mine.

"Carter I don't think any woman could make me as happy as you do."

"I still make you happy?" I asked him.

"Yes, Carter I'm still in love with you. That never stopped. When I screwed up in Paris and lost you, all I could think about was how to get you back into my life. When I heard that you committed suicide, I felt like someone killed me inside."

"You still love me?" I asked him and he smiled. A tear ran down my cheek and he grabbed my hands.

"Yes Carter I'm madly in love with you. I realized soon after our incident in Paris, that I do want the same things in life as you do. I want to get married and have kids and I want to do all of that with you." he said.

"Really?"

"Yes really. I guess what I'm trying to ask you is... will you take me back?" he asked me. My heart began to beat a little faster.

"Yes." I said and he gave me a kiss without hesitation.

"I promise, this time I won't screw things up." he said and I smiled.

"There is just one problem." I said and he looked worried.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm moving back to Athens in a week." I said.

"Why?"

"Well I thought I would give myself some space to recover from everything and maybe Greece would help me with that."

"You can't move back now. When does your lease run out?" he asked.

"I signed the papers and my apartment is going to be sold in a week. I have no place to stay so I'm returning to Greece." I said.

"Move in with me." he said.

"What? Max we just got back together and I don't want to take things too fast." I said and he smiled at me.

"Carter, you and I have been together for seven years. I think that shows we have been together long enough that moving in now wouldn't be that bad."

"I don't know Max, is that such a good idea?"

"Yes it is. I love you and you love me. We can maybe continue where we left off before things got ugly. Please move in with me."

"I suppose I could move in." I said and gave him a smile. He kissed me again and smiled at me.

"I'm so glad we're back together." he said.

"I am too. I suppose I should get my things ready to move into your apartment." I said.

"Our apartment." he said and I smiled. We talked a little more about his life and I added more about mine and my rehab experience.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" I asked.

"I would love to." he said and we ordered pizza. We ate it on the couch and once we were done, I cuddled up to him and we watched t.v. It felt like things never changed.

"So we have Percy and Annabeth's engagement party to attend. Would you like me to escort you?" he asked and I laughed.

"I would love that." I said and he hugged me tighter.

"Well I should get going." Max said and began to stand up.

"You aren't going to stay?" I asked him.

"Did you want me to stay?" he asked.

"I do but only if you want to." I said and he smiled.

"Then I will stay." he said and gave me a kiss. We stood there just kissing in the darkness of my apartment. The moonlight hit the floor and it was perfect. We made our way upstairs and fell into bed. I woke up the next day with Max's arms wrapped around me and my head on his chest. It felt like nothing was wrong before. I saw Max open his eyes and he looked down at me.

"Good morning beautiful." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Morning."

"Why don't I get started on breakfast. Pancakes ok?" he asked.

"Pancakes sound amazing. I'll meet you down there." I said and he got up.

"Ok I'll get started on them." he said and walked out towards the stairs. I walked out and looked over into the kitchen. Max was making the batter and getting everything together. It looked like the last time I was with him. My life was back on track again and I couldn't be happier.

**So what are your thoughts? Good? Please review! I don't have very many ideas planned for this story so let me know if you have some. I do however have plans for a story after this one that will focus on same couples but in a different way. Thanks everyone!**


	38. Percy and Annabeth's engagement party

**Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well! So I have decided to make another sequel to this one. I have lots of it planned and after that story, I don't know what I will do! Thanks everyone for reading and I don't own PJO!**

It has been almost a week since Max and I got back together. He decided he would come over to my apartment to move things over to his. We were upstairs boxing things up when he paused to look at a picture that was in a dark wooden frame. His lips formed into a smile as he gazed at the photo.

"What are you looking at?" I asked him and he turned to look at me, the frame still in his hand.

"This is the photo taken of us on our last anniversary. The same photo that is still on my beside table." he said and I remembered the photo from when I went to get my things from Max's apartment. He kept it up even when I went to move out.

"Yeah I remember that photo. Why didn't you put that photo away after we broke up?" I asked him.

"Why? Because I never stopped loving you even when we were broken up." he said and placed the frame into one of the cardboard boxes.

"That probably scared away all the girls that came over." I said in a curious tone.

"Actually, no girl, minus our friends, came over while we were broken up. Not even Emma."

"Not one?"

"Zero." he said and placed more photos into the box.

"That's nice to hear." I said with a smile.

"Really? Why?" he asked.

"It shows that even though we weren't together, you were still somewhat loyal to me."

"I'm very loyal Carter." he said and kissed the top of my head. We finished packing up all my things and drove over to Max's apartment. We brought in all the boxes and placed them on the couch. We carried a couple of my boxes up to the loft bedroom that overlooked the rest of the apartment. I started to unpack some of my clothes and Max walked over to his dresser. He returned with something in his hand.

"Since we are back together now, would you wear this?" he asked and held out his hand. In the palm was the love ring he gave me in high school to act as a promise ring.

"Of course I will." I said and he smiled and slipped the ring on my left ring finger. He gave me a kiss and we continued to unpack. We had to stop because we needed to get ready. Percy and Annabeth's engagement party is tonight and it is supposed to be very elegant. The girls were all instructed to wear floor-length dresses and the guys had to wear suits. I decided to wear my floor-length red Valentino dress that has a red rose on the shoulder. I pulled my hair into a bun but let the shorter pieces fall down to give the impression of a curly bob. I had a vanity on my side of the room where I sat and created a smokey-eye and put on my red lipstick with a hint of gloss. I had on my Hermès cuff and I was putting in my black diamond earrings when I looked over at Max. He was wearing a white pinstripe suit with a brown collared shirt and a white and brown tie with a hint of gold. He looked just like a man from the 1920's.

"Don't you look dapper." I said with a small laugh.

"Dapper? That's an interesting word choice." he said.

"Well it fits the time period you're portraying. Why are you dressed like a man from the 1920's?" I asked and he smiled.

"The guys, minus Percy, decided to get fashion inspiration from the Great Gatsby so we are all dressing like men from the 1920's."

"Well I think you look very handsome." I said and he came over and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and looked into the mirror of my vanity.

"I don't even compare to how gorgeous you look." he said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. We make our first appearance as a couple again. Did you tell anyone that we are back together?" I asked him and he shook his head no.

"I haven't talked to him in a couple of days due to my crazy work schedule. He sent me and the other guys a text message saying that if we don't look presentable, Annabeth will kill us." he said and I laughed. It seemed like something Annabeth would do. Like Annabeth, I'm a perfectionist but to the point where I have OCD but I can see where she is coming from. I slipped on my black Louboutin's and grabbed my Valentino clutch and Max put my jacket over my shoulders. We drove over to a building where the party was being held on the very top floor. We walked in and spotted our friends. They were all talking to each other and the girls gushing over each others dresses. Then they all spotted Max and I. Smiles formed on all of their faces.

"So are you two back together? Or are you just shacking up together?" Thalia asked and I shot her a look and she just laughed.

"Yes we're bsck together." I said and they all continued to smile.

"Finally. We were all hoping you would dump the British douche." Connor said. Sadria hit him on the shoulder with her clutch.

"He isn't a douche anymore. Actually he and I are good friends but I'm not ever going back to him." I said.

"We sure hope not." he said and Sadria gave him a look 'shut up before you say something really stupid.'

"Anyways... Carter we would love to hear more about everything." Sadria said and I walked over to where all the girls were standing since the guys all were gathered talking about sports. They all were matching in their 1920's assembles. Spencer had on a white suit, like Max but without the pinstripes and had a light blue shirt with a brown vest and a blue and yellow tie on. Nico had a brown suit on with a light blue shirt and a chocolate-brown bow tie. Leo wore a baby blue suit that made his tan skin pop with a white dress shirt and a blue-white striped bow tie. Like Leo, Frank had on a baby blue jacket but with a light pink dress shirt tucked into belted white pants. Jason wore a light brown blazer with a chocolate-brown vest with a baby blue dress shirt and brown tie with tan dress pants. Connor and Chris's outfits were my favorite though. Connor was wearing almost a carnival themed outfit which fits his personality completely. He was wearing a maroon and gray striped suit with a white dress shirt that had a dark blue bow tie and white dress pants. Chris was wearing a dark blue jacket with thin red stripes with a dark blue dress shirt and matching tie along with white dress pants.

"The guys look very handsome don't you think?" I asked the girls.

"Yes they do. I helped them come up with an idea. They all wanted to be matching in some way and I throughout the idea because I was doing a look from each decade for my next collection and I was working on the 20's at the time. They all thought it was great so they went along with it." Sadria said.

"Never thought I would see all those guys have a sense of style." Thalia said and we all laughed.

"By the way Carter you look great." Sadria said.

"Thanks. Yeah my color has returned back to my face even though I'm pale already but I gained all the weight I lost, but in a good way of course. Yeah I feel great. All of you look amazing!" I said. Sadria was wearing a cut-out light aqua dress that graced the floor with nude Louboutin heels, an Hermès gold bracelet, her red-orange hair was pulled back into neat bun and in her right hand she was holding a nude Celine clutch. Thalia for once had a colorful dress. She wore a floor-length Grecian style purple dress that was synched by a bronze belt, spiked gold earrings the hit her jaw line with gold spiked Louboutin shoes with her short black hair pulled into a messy updo but to continue with the theme, she had a gold spiked clutch. Kat was wearing a blue halter dress that had white swirls with hint of pink in the pattern. Even though the dress was loose-fitting, I could still see her 5-month pregnant belly sticking out. Her cherry red curls were pulled into a neat ponytail and she had on a thin gold bracelet on her right wrist and an Hermès pink cuff on her left. She had a white Hermès bag with her pink Louboutin pumps. Hazel had on a white and black maxi dress on with basic black heels, a black envelope clutch and to add a hint of color, bubblegum pink lips. Piper had on a lace maxi dress with gladiator sandals, a Tory Burch leather clutch and her chocolate-brown locks beginning as braids but then pulled into a curled ponytail. Clarisse kept it basic with a light pink pleated maxi dress that was belted off, a gold box clutch and spiked gold shoes. Her hair was curly and fell on her shoulders. Reyna was wearing a hot pink dress that was a halter, gold heels with a matching gold clutch, pink chandelier earrings and her curly brown hair down.

"So where is the happy couple?" I asked them.

"Probably making their way around the room." Thalia said. Then Annabeth walked up. She was absolutely stunning. She was wearing a detailed blue halter ball gown, yes ball gown, with diamond dangling earrings, pearl and diamond cufflings with her light blonde hair pulled into a bun that looked like a rose with natural looking make-up. Her diamond engagement ring sparkled under the dimly lit lights.

"You are breath taking." I said and she blushed.

"Doesn't she?" Percy said walking up and giving Annabeth a peck on the cheek. Percy had on a grey suit with a baby blue dress shirt and a light grey tie.

"Thank you so much. Yeah I decided to try something new and I went with an extreme girly look." Annabeth said in a humble voice.

"You girls look stunning. I love all of your dresses!" Annabeth said.

"Oh and guys, I'm loving the 20's themed suits." Percy said and they all smiled back at him.

"We thought we would try something new just like your bride-to-be." Max said and both Percy and Annabeth smiled at the 'bride-to-be' comment. Percy went over to join the guys and talk sports, the one thing he loves a lot since he is a Yankee's player but not even comparing to the love he has for Annabeth. She walked over to talk to the girls.

"So Carter, how are you doing?" she asked me and I smiled at her.

"I'm doing great. Yeah I talked through most of my issues. Also I got over my addictions and here I am. A much healthier and happier Carter." I said and she smiled at me.

"I'm so glad you're doing well. I need to ask you something..."

"Anything." I responded.

"Would you like to split the responsibility of being maid of honor with Thalia?"

"Be one of your maid of honors, of course!" I said and gave her a hug.

"The only thing is that Nico and Max are the best men and I know that you and Max have some break-up things you need to deal with..."

"Annabeth there is no need to worry because Max and I are back together." I said and she grinned.

"Good because I was hoping you two would get back together." she said.

"Yeah we've been back together for about a week now." I said and we continued to talk more about that for a little bit. I got caught up on the other girls' lives. We all walked back over to the guys and Max put his arm around my waist. A middle-aged man with sandy blonde hair walked over carrying a glass of champagne.

"Everyone this is my business partner James Clarke." Annabeth said.

"It's very nice to finally meet Annabeth's friends." James said.

"These are Percy's younger sisters Sadria and her husband Connor and Kat and her husband Spencer." Annabeth said then continued, "then these are my two maid of honors Thalia and her husband Nico and Carter and her boyfriend Max, Max and Nico are also Percy's best men. Then these are my friends Piper and her fiancé Jason, Hazel and her fiancé Frank, Leo and his wife Reyna and Clarisse and her husband Chris. And of course you remember my fiancé Percy." Annabeth said.

"Yes Percy it's nice to see you again and everyone it was so great meeting you but I need to get back home so I will see all of you at the wedding and Annabeth I will see you on Monday." he said.

"See you Monday James." Annabeth replied. Annabeth and Percy continued to circle the room talking to all the guests while I talked more with my friends and met some of the guests of the wedding. The party ended and Max and I said our goodbyes to our friends and headed back to the apartment. I went upstairs and changed into a nightgown that hit me mid-thigh and put my robe over it while I sat at my vanity taking my make-up off. As lovely as my gown was, it also gets very uncomfortable after a few hours.

"That was a nice engagement party." I said.

"Yeah it was but I don't picture myself having a huge engagement party. I would prefer to have just family and friends." Max said.

"I agree with you but being who I am, having a small party won't do it for my mother to be satisfied. She will probably throw a ball when I get engaged and invite all the worlds diplomats etc." I said.

"Guess we will figure it out when we get to that point." he said and that brought a smile to my face.

"When?" I asked in a sweet but curious voice.

"Or if we get to that point." Max said with a smile. We both got into bed and I cuddled up to him while he wrapped his arms around me.

I was happy to hear that Max said when before if. Maybe he pictures marrying me someday and that means that things are back on track. Who knows, maybe the next engagement party will be Max and mine.

**So that is my chapter. Thanks to my wonderful bff I'm-too-outrageous-4u for the engagement party idea also check out the outfits she made for the chapter on my profile. Thanks everyone and PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	39. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride

**Bonjour ou bonsoir readers! I hope you all are doing amazing! So like I always say, you can give me ideas for the story but I don't know how many I will incorporate. Maybe for the next story that I have planned in my head. Anyways, thanks everyone and I don't own Percy or the other characters from PJO.**

It has been about a month since Annabeth and Percy's engagement party. The girls all decided to take a trip down to Miami for a weekend to go dress shopping for Annabeth. She and Percy are getting married in June so she needs to look for a dress. Hazel and Frank are getting married in February in New Orleans, so she already has chosen a dress. Why Miami do you ask? Well Annabeth has her heart set on this one designer Rosa Clara. The same designer that designed the ball gown Annabeth wore to the engagement party. I looked through my closet for some cute sundresses to wear. I heard the door open from downstairs and a familiar jingle of keys echoing throughout the apartment.

"I'm home!" I heard Max shout from downstairs.

"I'm upstairs!" I shouted back. I heard him walk up the stairs and he wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck. I turned around and saw his bright face.

"How is the packing coming along?" he asked.

"Oh fine. I'm trying to find a couple of sundresses for the trip. Which one do you like better?" I held up a red dress and a blue and white striped dress.

"I like the red better on you." he said and I put the red dress into my suitcase.

"I like it better too."

"But if you wear the red one, then all the guys will be looking at you and I don't know if I want that..."

"Max you have nothing to worry about. I love you and only you." I said and gave him a kiss.

"I love you too. It will be nice for us guys to have some time to go Christmas shopping for our lovely women." Max said.

"Oh really? Have anything in mind for me?" I asked jokingly.

"I have a few ideas. One in particular." he said with a smile.

"I can't wait." I said with a smile.

* * *

The next morning I met up with the girls at the airport. Annabeth was sitting in one of the chairs with her blonde curls up in a messy bun while she was on her laptop sipping a cup of coffee. Sadria was sketching up a new design as usual. Thalia being Thalia was asleep in the chair. Kat too was asleep and leaning against Thalia while her very pregnant stomach stood out from her. Clarisse was sitting reading a magazine and Piper, Reyna and Hazel were all talking to each other.

"Morning ladies." I said and walked over.

"Morning." they all said in unison.

"Aren't you excited Annabeth to try on some dresses?" I asked and she smiled.

"Yeah I am. I don't really have a clue what I want but that's why all of you are here to help me." she said taking another sip of coffee.

"Yeah we are all here to see my future sister-in-law try on dresses!" Sadria said.

"Would you shut up Sadria, I'm trying to sleep!" Thalia said.

"Sorry." Sadria said. Sadria looked back down at her sketch pad that had a drawing of a high-heeled shoe. Finally we got on the plane for our trip to Miami. When we arrived in Miami, the sunshine kissed our faces. It was so nice to get away from the cold winter in New York and go somewhere where it is summer everyday. We arrived at the hotel and signed in.

"Ok so we have five bedrooms and nine of us." I said to the girls.

"Ok so everyone pick a roommate and Annabeth since this trip is for you to find your dress, you can have your own room." Sadria said.

"Thanks but Kat if you need to have your own room..."

"I'm fine Annabeth. I'll share with Sadria." Kat said with a smile. I decided to share a room with Thalia. We were in between Kat and Sadria's room and Hazel and Piper's room. Then across the hall was Annabeth's room and Clarisse and Reyna's room. We all changed and freshened up for lunch. We decided to go to a café across the street from the hotel. We ordered our food and sat around talking.

"Hazel you have already chosen a dress?" I asked her and she smiled.

"Yes I have chosen one! I love it so much. It's about knee-length but has long sleeves to give a more vintage look to it. I can't wait to get married in two months!" she said her face glowing with joy.

"Piper, have you chosen a dress?" Sadria asked taking a sip of her ice tea.

"Not yet. Hazel, Reyna and I went shopping for dresses, Reyna just to give commentary, but I found two I like a lot. I just haven't decided which one I like better. Jason and I have the rest of the wedding planned, I just need to get a dress." she said.

"You can always look at Rosa Clara with me..." Annabeth said with a bright smile.

"I think I will stick to choosing one of the two dresses but thanks." Piper responded.

"Carter, have you and Max discussed your plans for the future?" Clarisse asked.

"Yes we have talked about our future together. I told him that I would take him back only if he wanted the same things I do. Obviously since we're back together, we want to get married and have children. We've talked about get married in a couple of years and starting a family not too long after that." I said.

"Good to hear that the two of you are making progress in your relationship." Thalia said.

"Yes there will definitely will be wedding bells in the future, I just don't know when." After lunch we walked around and shopped. Kat bought more baby things and Sadria was looking at different dresses and seemed to be critiquing them with her eyes. I looked over at Clarisse who was eyeballing the baby section. I walked up to her and she smiled.

"So is there a baby on the way?" I asked in a curious voice.

"I'm not pregnant if that's what you think. Chris and I have discussed starting a family just not now. I just was curious and decided to take a look at the baby clothes." she said setting down a small beanie.

"When you do become pregnant, I want to be the first to know." I said with a grin.

"I'm very close to Max so as long as you two are together, you will be the first to know." she said with a smile. I'm so glad that after all the disagreements that Clarisse and I had in high school are just a thing of the past. Clarisse and I have become close over the years and I'm glad to have her as one of my closest friends. We finished shopping and returned back to the hotel. We all got room service and ate in Annabeth's room. It was fun to have a girls weekend and be able to catch up will all my friends. We returned back to our rooms and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and looked over Thalia who was sound asleep. I walked over and gently shook her shoulder.

"Thals, Thals wake up." I said in a calming voice.

"Carter go away I'm trying to sleep." she said in a groggy voice.

"Thalia we have to go to the wedding boutique so you need to wake up." I said and she took her pillow and hit me in the face.

"You're annoying." she said then sat up. It was high school all over again. I forgot what it was like to share a place with Thalia. I feel bad for Nico and all the torture she must put him through. We got ready and met the rest of the girls in the lobby.

"Ready to try on some dresses?" I asked and Annabeth beamed.

"Yes I'm so excited!" she said and we took a bus to the boutique. We arrived at the boutique which was absolutely gorgeous. The inside was white with dark wood. There were racks full of stunning white dresses and a few racks of colorful bridesmaids dresses. We all sat down on one of the couches then a woman in her late 20's walked over to greet us.

"Hello everyone I am Melanie and I will be your bridal consultant for the day. So who is my bride?" she asked and Annabeth stood up.

"I'm Annabeth and these are my bridesmaids." Annabeth said.

"Great! It's nice to meet you. So do you have any ideas on what you're looking for in a dress?" Melanie asked.

"I have no idea. Can I try on different styles?" she asked.

"Of course you can. I'll start you off with one of each." she said and went over to the racks and began pulling dresses from all different styles. She took Annabeth into a dressing room and began getting her into the first dress. Annabeth came out in a mermaid style dress. She walked over to the mirror and looked at her reflection carefully.

"I don't really like it. I mean the dress is beautiful but I think it is too tight for me." she said and walked back into the dressing room. She returned in a fit and flare dress that looked stunning on her.

"It isn't as tight as the other style but I think I need something with more detail. The dress is a little plain." she said. She came out in a A-line style dress that had a high neckline with lace.

"What do you think of this style?" Sadria asked.

"I really like this dress. I think it complements me well but I want to keep looking." she said and went back in. She came out in more A-line style dresses but wasn't overly in-love with any of them.

"I know you like the A-line style, but I want to see what you think of a princess style dress or a ball gown." Melanie said. She walked over and pulled two dresses from the racks. One was a princess style dress that was strapless with beautiful beading and lace detail on the bodice. The other was more of a ball gown. It had a lace bodice and lace sleeves with a silk skirt. Annabeth tried on the princess style dress first.

"I love this dress. I think that it has beautiful detail and it looks great on me." she said spinning around on the pedestal to get a better look.

"Is this the dress?" Sadria asked.

"It could be, but I think I'll try the other just to be sure." she said and entered the dressing room which seemed to be her 100th time in there. She emerged out of the room in the ball gown dress. She was stunning and glowing in the dress. She walked over to the pedestal and had a wide smile on her face.

"What do you think of the dress?" I asked her.

"I'm in love with this dress. I love the lace detail on the top and I love how its an off the shoulder style dress. I really love the quarter length sleeves. I think they make the dress unique and stunning." Annabeth said with a smile the whole time.

"Would you like to see it with the matching veil?" Melanie asked and Annabeth nodded her head. Melanie momentarily left the area then returned carrying a gorgeous veil that had a lace outline with simple detail on the inside of the veil. She walked over and clipped it into Annabeth's golden curls. Annabeth analyzed herself in the mirror and then tears started forming in her eyes.

"You know she loves it when she starts crying." Sadria said.

"This is the one!" Annabeth said in an excited tone. We all walked up to her and gave her a group hug.

"Congratulations! We only have that dress in sample size which seems to fit you nicely. I think with minor alterations, it will fit you perfectly." Melanie said.

"I'll take it!" Annabeth said. She went back into the room and came back in her regular clothes. Melanie walked over and put the dress in a dress bag and brought it over to the register. She rung Annabeth up and Annabeth handed her a credit card.

"I can't believe I'm buying my wedding dress right now. This is so insane." Annabeth said.

"It looks amazing on you. Percy is going to love it!" I said and she smiled.

"Sadria, do you mind doing the alterations on the dress?" Annabeth asked and Sadria smiled.

"Of course I can. I can also keep the dress at my place so Percy doesn't try to take a peek at the dress."

"Thanks Sadria!" Annabeth said. We went back to the hotel to drop of the gown and then relaxed the rest of the day. We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate Annabeth's success in finding a dress and to celebrate the ending of our girls weekend. The next morning we took a plane back to Manhattan. I headed back to my apartment and walked in to find Max relaxing on the couch.

"Hello beautiful. How was Miami?" he asked.

"It was wonderful. I'm happy you're here but shouldn't you be at the hospital?" I asked.

"Yes but they didn't need me today so they told me to take the day off. That way I can spend the whole day with the woman I love." he said and I sat down and gave him a kiss.

"That's so sweet. Annabeth found a dress." I told him.

"Really? That's cool. What does it look like?" Max asked.

"I'm not going to tell you because I know you will tell Percy." I said and he smiled.

"I'm sure I would let it slip." he said and we both laughed.

"I'm so happy for her but you know what they say, always a bridesmaid never a bride."

"That's not true. One day you will be a bride, I promise." he said then gave me a kiss. I couldn't tell if he was hinting at something but I just rested against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me. Being a bride would be nice for a change.

**What did you all think? I hope you liked it! Please REVIEW and let me know! Thanks everyone :)**


	40. A Christmas with a big suprise

**Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! There isn't much left for this story. I have plans for the next but I'm unsure when I will write it! Let me know if you have ideas (by the way its a continuation of this story)! Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!**

Christmas is about one week away and I have found nothing for Max. Everyone else is easy to shop for. I usually get the girls some form of jewelry, clothes or purses. For the guys I usually get them polos or anything sports related. With Max, it's very difficult. He loves football and baseball and owns season tickets to both sports. I finished wrapping all my friends gifts and still no ideas for Max. I guess the best thing to do is to go window shopping. I grabbed my jacket and scarf then went outside into the cold air. I looked at many mens clothing stores and nothing stood out to me. I have no clue. All my friends are at work or back in California. Well all but one. I dug into my purse and pulled out my iPhone. I scrolled through my contacts and dialed the number.

"Hello Carter. Um why are you calling me?" Percy asked with a confused expression.

"I need your help finding a present for Max." I said to him and I heard him laugh through the phone.

"You haven't found him a gift yet? And you want me to help you?" he asked.

"Yes I need you to help me. You're his best friend and you both have the same likes and dislikes. Please help me."

"Fine I guess I can help you since I have nothing else to do. Where do you want to meet?" he asked.

"Meet me at the mall and we can go from there."

"Ok see you soon." he said then hung up the phone. I drove over to where the mall is and sat on one of the benches. I was on my phone then I heard a familiar voice talking to me.

"Hey so where do you want to go first?" Percy asked. His black hair was speckled with white snow and he had his hands in his pockets.

"I don't care. Just tell me where you think I'll find something for him and we can go other places too." I said to him.

"Ok why don't we check out some clothing stores and then I'll come up with more places if that doesn't work out." he said. We walked over to one clothing store and into the men's section. Percy walked over and held up a sweater.

"A sweater? Really? That's such a boring gift." I said and Percy just smiled and rolled his eyes.

"I'm just trying to help. So I'm guessing you want to avoid clothing?"

"Yeah Clothing is just too generic."

"What about like a messenger bag or something like that?" Percy asked.

"Yeah I guess we could check that out." I said and we walked over to a store that specializes in bags. I looked up and down the racks and found a nice bag. "What do you think? Do you think Max would like it?" I asked Percy.

"Yeah I think he would like it. So are you going to get it for him?" he asked. I held up the bag to take a better look.'

"I think I'll buy it. I just think that I want to get him something with more meaning. Any ideas?" I asked and Percy looked like he was thinking.

"I don't know. I think you should at least get the bag just so you have something." I nodded my head and walked over to the register. I purchased the bag and walked out of the store. We walked out into the main part of the mall.

"Do you want to go get lunch somewhere? My treat." I said.

"Sure we can go wherever. There's a great Italian restaurant down the street." Percy said.

"Sounds good to me." I said and we walked out into a shower of snowflakes. We walked down the street to the Italian restaurant. We walked in and sat down at one of the tables. The waitress came over and was holding two menus in her hand.

"Hello I'm Amy and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you two something to drink?" she asked.

"I'll have a coffee please." Percy said.

"I'll have a cup of green tea please." I said.

"Wow it looks like a blizzard out there. It's so cute how the two of you still find time to go on dates even when its terrible outside." Amy said and we both laughed.

"We're not on a date. We aren't even a couple. I'm engaged to her best friend." Percy said.

"Yeah we're just friends. He is just helping me find my boyfriend a Christmas present." I said.

"Oh I'm sorry I just assumed. I'll be right back with your drinks." she said then walked quickly towards the kitchen.

"That was awkward." I said and Percy just nodded his head.

"Yeah like I would ever date you." Percy said with a smile.

"Excuse me? What is that suppose to mean?" I asked him and he just kept smiling.

"You just aren't my type. Also we're similar in many ways which would cause us to clash."

"Thanks. I'm really happy with Max."

"Do you think he'll propose to you on Christmas?" Percy asked.

"I'm not sure unless you know something that might change my mind..."

"No I don't have a clue. I took him with me to go ring shopping for Annabeth so he might do the same thing for when he proposes to you."

"Do you think he will ever propose to me?"

"I definitely think he will. He is madly in love with you. Max and Annabeth are very similar. They both fear getting married. It took a long time to convince Annabeth but now we're getting married in less than six months. Max will come around."

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked him.

"Sure?"

"If Max mentions purposing to me, tell him he needs to get permission from my mother first."

"I know that's the right thing to do but why does he have to get permission?"

"Well there is more to just getting permission. He has to earn the right to marry me."

"What? I'm not understanding..."

"Ever since the ancient times, the men must go through tasks in order to impress the parents of the girl he wants to marry. Some exchanged animals or goods for the daughter's hand, others have to go through physical tasks."

"What kind of physical tasks?"

"All the physical tasks show different qualities in a man. Usually they test how much a man can lift to show his strength. Other tasks show his ability to protect the daughter and other things. I know that my mother still finds it important to keep tradition going."

"I'll warn him if he is considering purposing to you." Percy said and I laughed.

"Thanks Percy." I said. We ordered our food and ate while discussing Percy and Annabeth's wedding and Kat and Spencer's future child. We finished lunch and walked back outside. An idea occurred to me on what to get Max. Percy was wearing a watch and it made me think that I could get him a watch that is like a locket and put a picture in it of the two of us.

"Have you seen those watches that double as a locket?" I asked Percy.

"Yeah. Max always wears a watch. I think he would like that." We walked into a jewelry store and over to the cases that had watches in them. A black watch caught my eye.

"What do you think of that one?" I asked Percy while I pointed to the watch.

"I like it. I think its Max's style." A sales associate came over. It was a short man who was in his mid sixties.

"Can I help you find something?" he asked.

"Yes I would like to see that black watch right there. Is it a locket watch?" I asked him.

"Yes it is a locket watch." he said pulling it out and placing it on the glass counter. I picked it up and examined it. I loved the watch. I think Max would love it too.

"I'll take it." I said and he rung it up.

"This a present for your boyfriend over there?" he asked pointing to Percy who was looking at some wedding bands across the store.

"He isn't my boyfriend. He is getting married to my best friend in six months. He is just here to help me find a gift for my boyfriend who is his best friend."

"It's a lovely gift." he said and placed it in a box then handed it to me. Percy walked over to me.

"Did you buy it?" he asked.

"Yeah I bought it. Did you drive here?" I asked.

"No I took the subway which I know scares you to no end."

"I hate the subway. It's so disgusting."

"I'm sure it's hard for someone with germ problems to go on there."

"I can drop you off at your apartment." I said and we walked outside and over to my car in the parking garage. We got in and drove over to Percy and Annabeth's apartment building.

"Thanks Carter."

"No thank you for helping me find Max a gift."

"No problem." he said then shut the door. I drove back home and walked upstairs to our apartment. I wrapped the watch and placed the bag in a box. I just hope Max will like my gift.

* * *

Max's POV

It took me a while to figure out what I'm going to get Carter for Christmas. It's hard to find something for a girl who owns everything. I was walking down the street when something caught my eye, a pet shop. Carter always talks about how much she wants a dog since she lost hers soon after she moved to New York. Having a dog in an apartment in New York is difficult. I know that Carter would want a bigger dog and once that dog grows up, an apartment is too small. Even if I get her a dog, I wouldn't even know what breed of dog to get her. I took the subway back to where our apartment is. I walked up and unlocked the door and saw Carter sitting on the couch drinking some tea while reading a book.

"Hey beautiful how are you?" I asked and kissed her.

"Oh I'm great. I'm done wrapping everything so I decided to relax for a little bit. How are you?" she asked me while taking another sip of her tea.

"I had a good day at the hospital. Same thing it seems like anymore." I said to her and she smiled.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, I'm having lunch with the girls tomorrow at the palm court. You don't mind if I go, do you?" she asked.

"Not at all. Have fun. I hope you don't mind if I head to bed right now, do you? I'm so exhausted from work." I asked her.

"I think I'll join you in a little bit. Sleep well." she said then gave me a kiss. I walked up the steps and got changed out of my scrubs. I dozed off for a while then I felt a warm body next to me. I wrapped my arms around Carter and she moved in closer. I woke up the next morning with Carter cuddled up to me. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 10:30am. I have no idea how I slept in so long. I turned over and lightly shook Carter's arm.

"Hey honey... Carter... it's 10:30 I think you should wake up now." she shot up out of bed. Then she glanced at the clock.

"Oh crap I have to meet the girls in an hour!" she said then ran into the bathroom and I heard the shower turn on. I picked up my phone and called Percy.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey Percy do you want to go get something to eat in like an hour?" I asked him.

"Sure where do you want to go?" he asked.

"I don't care maybe that new Burger place?"

"Cool. I'll meet you there." he said then hung up the phone. Carter came out of the bathroom with a towel on and her black curls glued to her body by the water.

"I have no idea what to wear!" she said going through her closet. I walked over and went to help her.

"Just wear a dress and boots." I said and she pulled out a navy dress and a tan scarf.

"You're right. Thanks." she said. She went back into the bathroom to blow dry her hair and came out and was ready.

"So is this a lunch to discuss some important news?" I asked. Usually the girls meet at the palm court if they have exciting news to share.

"No. We are just having our monthly lunch at the palm court. What are you doing today?" she asked.

"I'm going to lunch with Percy." I said and she smiled.

"That's nice. Have fun and I'll see you later." she said and gave me a kiss. She put on her tan jacket and grabbed her keys then left. About thirty minutes later I went to meet up with Percy at the burger place. He was sitting at one of the tables holding a menu in his hand.

"Hey man whats up?" he asked and I sat down.

"Nothing really. Do you mind helping me with a gift for Carter?" I asked him and he rolled his eyes.

"Sure no problem. So where do you want to buy the ring?" he asked.

"Wait what? No I'm not getting her a ring. I'm getting her a dog." I said and he laughed.

"Are you seriously buying her a dog?"

"Yes I'm serious. I want to get her a dog. Wait did she say something to you or Annabeth about a ring?" I asked him and he just shook his head and smiled.

"It's obvious she wants to get married. but she also was talking to Annabeth about it. If you're thinking of proposing to her soon, you better plan a trip to Greece ahead of time."

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because she was saying that there is a courtship ritual you have to do in order to get permission for her hand in marriage. Her mother picks the activities and judges whether or not she thinks you are good enough to marry her daughter." Percy said and I was surprised.

"I guess I will have to plan soon."

"So you're considering purposing to her?" he asked with a smile.

"Soon. I just need to find the right time." I said. We finished lunch and walked over to the pet store. We walked in and heard a bunch of animals making noise. A couple with a baby were playing with a puppy in the corner. A man walked over to us that works there.

"Can I help you two?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm trying to find a puppy for my girlfriend." I said to him and he was thinking.

"Well what breed are you looking for?" he asked.

"My girlfriend used to have a Great Dane when she was younger..."

"We have a Great Dane puppy. There is only one and it's a female." he said and gestured to Percy and I to follow him. We walked over to a glass case where a black Great Dane puppy was sleeping.

"She's cute if that's the dog you're thinking of." Percy said.

"Can I hold her?" I asked the man and he nodded then opened the case. He cradled the puppy in his arms then handed it to me. It opened its eyes which were a pretty shade of blue.

"She is about a month and a half. Actually she is the runt of the liter. If you want a stronger dog then we can look at some other breeds..."

"I'll take her." I said and Percy smiled.

"Wow she's so cute." Percy said and was petting the puppy's head.

"Alright then. Follow me and I'll help you find all the supplies you need for it." the man said and I followed him over. I got a kennel, a few toys, dog bowls, a collar, and food for the puppy. I put her in the kennel and bought all the things. We walked out of the store and over to my car.

"There is just one problem with this gift." Percy said.

"Whats that?" I asked.

"The puppy is a living creature that makes noise and needs to be fed. So how are you going to hide it from Carter for the next two days?"

"Shit I didn't think of that. Can I keep her at your apartment and get her from you on Christmas?" I asked him.

"I guess. I'll convince Annabeth it's an ok idea to have the puppy there. But I'm at my parents Christmas Eve and Christmas day."

"Do you have a spare key I can borrow?" I asked him and he dug the key out of his pocket.

"Here but give it back to me the day after Christmas. I'll let you know how the dog is doing. Why don't you follow me back to the apartment and drop the dog and supplies off." Percy said. I got in the car and followed him back to his and Annabeth's apartment. We got the puppy and the supplies upstairs and set up.

"Thanks so much man. It means a lot to me that you take care of the puppy." I said.

"No problem. Maybe I'll see you in the next couple of days but if not have a nice holiday." Percy said.

"Thanks you too." I said then drove back to the apartment.

* * *

Christmas Eve...

Carter and I were sitting at the table eating dinner. She looked so beautiful in her strapless red cocktail dress. I had set up a candlelit dinner with the table near the window and placed it in the kitchen/living room. The snow was falling outside and everything was perfect. My phone buzzed on the granite counter and I went to pick it up.

"Dr. La Rue, you're needed at the hospital immediately." I heard a woman say on the line.

"Now?"

"Yes there we need backup doctors please rush over here." I grabbed my jacket and phone.

"Where are you going?" Carter asked.

"I'm needed at the hospital. I'll be back as soon as I can." I said then gave her a kiss.

"Ok try to get back here soon." she said.

* * *

Carter's POV

I waited for Max to come home but he never did. I went to bed and woke up on Christmas morning and he wasn't there. My phone rang and I went to pick it up.

"Hey beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't come back last night." Max said.

"It's ok. Are you on your way home?" I asked.

"They need me through the evening. I'm sorry I have to miss out on Christmas together. I'll try to be home as soon as I can. I love you and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too and I love you." I said then hung up the phone. I called my friends to see what they were doing. They were at Sally and Paul's apartment and said I could join them. I drove over there and was greeted by happy faces.

"Merry Christmas!" they all said. Wrapping paper was scattered across the floor and everyone was in there pajamas.

"Merry Christmas to all of you. Thanks for letting me come over." I said.

"Of course dear. You're practically family. Do you want a cookie?" Sally asked and I took one of her famous blue cookies and joined everyone. I spent most of the day and part of the evening there then Max texted me.

"I'm on my way home. I'll see you soon."

I thanked everyone and wished them merry Christmas then drove back over to the apartment. Max was sitting on the couch with his ugly Christmas sweater on and two cups of hot chocolate were sitting on the coffee table.

"Merry Christmas." he said then gave me a kiss.

"Thanks you too. Do you want to open presents?" I asked him and he smiled then brought over a couple of boxes. I opened the one from my mother and Anthony. It was a beautiful painting of my view from my bedroom in Greece. It made me feel happy inside to see the familiar view. Max opened his from his parents and he got a nice green sweater.

"Open mine next." I said to him and he grabbed the wrapped box. He tore the wrapping paper and opened the box to reveal the messenger bag.

"Carter this will be great for work. Thank you." he said then gave me a kiss.

"There's one more for you." I said and he grabbed the box with the watch. He unwrapped it and took out the watch. He opened up the locket part of the watch to reveal our anniversary picture.

"Carter this is a wonderful gift. Thank you. Oh and last but not least, my gift for you." he said then walked over to the office. "Close your eyes." he said. I shut my eyes and I could hear him walk over and place something warm in my arms. "Open!" he said and I opened my eyes to an adorable puppy.

"Max you got me a puppy! I love her thank you!" I said and gave him a big kiss.

"I know how much you wanted a dog and now you have one." he said.

"I don't know what to name her. I know she is a Great Dane and she looks like my old one. I think I'll name her Duchess 2 after my old dog but call her Duchess for short." I said and cradled the puppy.

"I think that's a great name." he held up his mug "to the newest addition to our family." he said and I grabbed my mug and clanked them together.

"This is the best Christmas present I've ever received. Thank you." I said. The rest of the night we cuddled on the couch watching Christmas movies with our new dog. This was the best Christmas I have ever had.

**What did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! Thanks everyone :)**


	41. What I do for love

**Hey everyone! So I'm at my cabin right now and my internet access is limited. I will try to update as much as I can and try to read your reviews/PMs whenever I have access. Thanks everyone and please let me know if you have ideas. I'm not sure if they will be used in this story but I'm making a sequel to this one so let me know! Thanks and I don't own PJO!**

Max's POV

The rest of Christmas was amazing. Carter and I bonded with our new dog Duchess and watched old Christmas movies. I guess what I loved most was the time I got to spend with Carter. I work so much and sometimes my work goes late and I can't have dinner with Carter and dates can sometimes get pretty limited. For New Year's all of our friends had a party over at Percy and Annabeth's apartment. It was a lot of fun and I got to spend time with my friends which can also get limited with my work schedule. It's been about two weeks into January and things between Carter and I have been great. We have been bonding with our dog Duchess by going on walks around Central Park. Carter loves Duchess so much and I think enjoys having someone around to keep her company while I'm at work. Duchess was lying on our bed with her head on a blanket. Carter was walking around our loft bedroom packing her clothes into her suitcase. Since Carter is apart of the United Nations branch for Greece, she must attend the meetings for the UN and that includes the five day conference held in Paris, France. She's leaving tomorrow morning and won't be back until the day before my birthday. She had her black curls up in a messy bun and had on a long sleeved shirt and sweat pants but still looked absolutely gorgeous even when she considers that look to be her absolute worst.

"I always feel like I'm forgetting something…" she said looking through her bag which was full of dresses, skirts, blazers and blouses.

"I don't know. Maybe you could add another skirt to the other hundred you're bringing." I said jokingly.

"Haha very funny. But I still feel like I'm forgetting something."

"Do you have all the documents you need?" I asked her and she walked over to her briefcase and pulled out a binder full of documents.

"Yes I have all my documents. I hope it will come to me. I'm going to be so bored for the next five days. At least I have Alexander to talk to since he is the only ambassador near my age." She said.

"Alexander?" I asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Nothing will happen, I promise. I love you and only you." She said and I smiled. "Besides, anytime I have downtime, I'll either be resting or be shopping."

"What more do you need to buy?" I asked her.

"Well I need to get a baby gift for Spencer and Kat." She said.

"Honey, haven't you given them enough? Why do you need to get them another gift?"

"Because I love to spoil kids because this will be like my niece or nephew and I love them so until I have children, I will spoil their child."

"Well when we have kids, I don't want to spoil them that much." I said and she smiled.

"Wait, did you just day when we have kids?" she asked with a big smile.

"Maybe I did and maybe I didn't." I said returning the smile.

"I know what I heard." She said then gave me a kiss. "I need to go to bed if I have to wake up early to catch my flight."

"You're not taking a private jet?" I asked her which seems like a shocking thing to ask if I wasn't talking to the former Queen of Greece.

"No I'm not. I'm flying first class on an international flight straight to Paris. Good night." She said then gave me another kiss. She got into bed and cuddled with Duchess.

Insert line break here. …

The next morning she woke me up so I could go with her to the airport. Carter had already showered and was all dressed by the time she work me up. She looked stunning since she had to dress formally, she was wearing a black and gray jacket with a knee-length gray dress and her curls pulled back into a neat updo. How she can wear a knee-length dress with no tights in the middle of winter I have no clue but it doesn't phase her at all. I drove her over to the airport and walked in with her.

"Alright I should probably make my way to the gate. I love you and hopefully your job will be much more exciting than mine." She said.

"Ha I doubt it. I'll talk to you whenever it's convenient for you and I'll see before my big day." I said and gave her a kiss.

"Yes then when I get back we can celebrate your birthday all day the next day. I'll text you when I land. I love you." She said then gave me one last kiss and walked over to the security line. Little does she know, I'm going to Greece for the next four days to try to win her hand in marriage from Queen Callista.

* * *

I packed my bags last night so I could fly to Greece. About a week ago, I bought the ring with some advice from my guy friends who have already proposed. The ring is very unique just like Carter. It is a diamond but it's carved to look like a rose. Percy and Annabeth said they would watch Duchess for me while I was gone so I dropped her off and drove over to the airport. I got on the long flight to Greece but it will all be worth it in the end, well if I get permission that is. The plane landed in the beautiful city of Athens. The sun was shining over the beautiful blue-green sea. I got a taxi to take to the palace and the man driving the taxi laughed in my face when I told him why I was at the palace. I got there and stood in front of the large gate. The intercom was on my left and I walked over to it. At first the thing was in Greek then it switched to English.

"Please state your full name and for what reason you are here." The speaker said.

"My name is Maximus Dallas La Rue. I'm here to visit Queen Callista." I said. The gate buzzed open and two guards walked over.

"We're going to need to see some form of identification also we are going to need to search you and your belongings." One of the guards said. I pulled out my passport and handed it to them. The guard then patted me down and searched my suitcase and the messenger bag that Carter gave me.

"You're clear. We'll escort you over to the palace entrance." The other guard said handing me back my bags and passport. We walked over to the marble staircase that lead to a room in the palace. The palace has many entrances and all have at least two guards on duty. I glanced over at the two guards standing at the door and they nodded their heads and I returned the gesture. I walked into the hallway that leads to one of the main rooms. A maid was walking by with her heels making noise against the white marble floor.

"Hello sir can I help you?" she asked me.

"Yes I'm here to see Queen Callista. Where is she?" I asked her.

"She is on the phone in her office. You can wait outside her door until she is finished. I'll take your bags for you and put them in one of the rooms." She said then grabbed my suitcase from my hand and my messenger bag which was slung over my shoulder. I walked down the hall and into one of the main rooms. The back of the room had doors that lead into one of the courtyards and on the other side there were doors leading into an additional room. I walked into the room and saw a group of maids.

"Can we help you with something sir?" the one asked. The other who was older, maybe in her early to mid-40's whispered something into the other's ear.

"Yes I'm here to see Queen Callista. Where is her office?" I asked.

"I'll show you sir La Rue." The older maid said. I have no idea how she knew my last name. We walked down another hallway.

"I'm sorry but how do you know my name?" I asked her.

"Lady Carter talks about you all the time I've noticed pictures of the two of you in her bedroom. It's not my place to ask, but are you here about a proposal?" she asked.

"Yes I'm here to ask Queen Callista for permission to marry Carter." I said.

"I was hoping you would say that!" she said with an excited tone. "Here is her office. Just wait until she comes out." The maid said then walked away. I stood outside her door waiting for her to come out but she didn't. A man in his maybe late forties early fifties walked down the marble hallway and gave me a weird look. He was tall with tan skin and dark brown curly hair with specks of gray and a neatly trimmed beard came next to me.

"Hello. I hope you're not here to take the Queen on a date, are you?" the man asked.

"No I'm here to discuss proposing to her daughter." I said.

"Oh you must be Max. Carter talks about you all the time. So you're going to propose to her, that's exciting.

"Yes 'm really excited to ask her. Um you know who I am but I have no idea who you are…"

"I'm Anthony Bonaparte. I'm Callista's um boyfriend you could call it."

"Yes Carter has told me a lot about you. All good things of course." I said and he smiled. Queen Callista opened the door and walked over to Anthony.

"Max, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here to get permission to marry your daughter." I said.

"I see, well you need to complete some challenges before I give you permission to marry my one and only child. "She said. I could tell by the look on her face that she was judging me. Anthony looked over and smiled.

"I'm ready for any challenge." I said and she examined me one more time then turned to face Anthony.

"I'm going to tell the chef to prepare three dinners. I'll return soon." She said then gave Anthony a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you ready for the challenges?" Anthony asked.

"It depends, are they difficult?" I asked him.

"I have no idea. I don't know anything about them but I wish you luck." He said and patted my back then walked into the other room. About thirty minutes later, we went to dinner. The dinner was goat meat with a variety of vegetables and potatoes. I ate it and it was delicious. Anthony asked me more about myself and I did the same for him. We finished eating and talked more.

"Max, you better get your rest, you have a big day ahead of you." Callista said with a smile. I walked up the marble steps and up to my bedroom. It had a great view of the sea. I walked over to open one of the windows and got a breeze that smelled like salt. I got into bed and drifted off to the sound of the waves hitting the shore.

* * *

I was woken up the next morning by a maid who was carrying a silver tray that had food on it.

"Good morning sir La Rue, did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes I did, thank you. Oh and please call me Max." I said and she smiled.

"Ok then Max. I brought you breakfast. I hope you enjoy. Also the Queen wants you to meet her in the east courtyard in an hour." She said then closed the doors and walked out. It has been a long time since I had a delicious breakfast like this. It had toast with an omelet, bacon, a small bowl of Greek yogurt, fruit and a cup of coffee. I got dressed and walked downstairs and down a long hallway to the room that leads to the east courtyard.

"Good Morning Max. Did you get enough rest last night?" Callista asked.

"Yes it was very comfortable. Did you sleep well?" I asked her.

"Yes I always sleep very nicely here. I hope you had enough to eat because you are going to need to energy for today's challenges. First thing you need to do, is to get some armor on." She said. Armor? What kind of challenges am I doing?

"Ok I'll get suited up." I said. She walked me into a room that had armor covering the walls. She handed me a stack full of things.

"Put all of these on and meet me at the arena. The maids will guide you there." Callista said then walked out. I put on the armor which was a typical gladiator look. I went out into the main room while a guard came in and glanced at me. He didn't look much older than me.

"Ready to go fight the lion?" he asked me with a smile.

"What? There's a lion I have to fight?" I asked him and he laughed.

"No there's no lion. I'm just trying to scare you." He said. "I'm guessing you're looking for the arena though. I'll take you there." He said and I followed him outside.

"Do you know anything about these challenges?" I asked him.

"I have no idea what they are. Hopefully you pass them because if you don't, then you can't marry Carter. You're lucky to be dating her. I've had a crush on her for so many years but she hasn't been available. I wish you the best of luck though." He said as we reached the arena.

"Thanks I'll need it." I said and walked inside. The arena was like a smaller version of the coliseum. It has white marble seats and a brown dirt floor that I'm guessing I will be on for the day. Callista and Anthony sat in one of the rows that overlooked the playing field.

"Max, your first challenge will be the throwing the discuss." She said and a guard came over and handed me a discus to throw. "I assume you know how to do this. It is an ancient sport and shows the strength of a man. You may begin whenever you feel like it." She said. I grabbed the discuss by the edge and turned to the side. Will all my power, I threw it and it hit the side of the arena and fell into the dirt.

"Was that an ok throw?" I asked Callista.

"I've seen better. You have two more chances." She said. I grabbed another disc and repeated the process. This time it hit the marble and cracked it with a chunk falling into the dirt along with a disc. I glanced over to see her reaction and she just rolled her eyes.

"The goal is not to ruin the facility Maximus. Next, you must lift weights." She said. About ten slabs of heavy marble were placed in front of me. "You must show me how many slabs you can lift above your head." She said and I picked one up and grabbed two more. I lifted them above my head with my hands shaking. The at least weighed close to a hundred pounds per slab. A guard came over and added another slab on top of the others. Then he added one more and I used the strength in my legs to hold up my body that was trembling from the weight.

"Only five hundred pounds? Many gladiators could lift at least eight." She said. My arms gave out and I dropped the heavy slabs and a cloud of dirt blocked my vision momentarily.

"Look, holding five hundred pounds of thick marble above your head is difficult. Even for someone like me and I'm part god." I said.

"Maximus, so far you haven't met my expectations. We will take a break for lunch, then we will proceed." She said and we walked back to the palace and into the dining room. The table had platters full of slices of different meats, cheeses, breads, vegetables and fruit. I sat down and put the different foods on my plate. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I was until I consumed all my food in a short period of time. Anthony finished not to long after me as did Callista.

"For the next couple of activities, we will be out in the fields." She said and walked out of the room. Anthony walked over to me.

"Don't let her comments psych you out. You know that you love Carter and she feels the same way about you. Callista is probably trying to see how long it takes for you to quit and see if you keep going along with these stupid challenges, if you really care about Carter." Anthony said then walked out.

I'll do whatever it takes to marry the love of my life. I walked out to the field where Callista had chairs brought out for her and Anthony to sit on. Guards stood around the field with what looked like shields.

"The next challenge is throwing a javelin." She said.

"Ok so you want to see how far I can throw this?" I asked her holding a javelin in my hand.

"Yes I want to see if you have strength behind your throw." This couldn't be that hard. I have good throwing abilities since I was a quarterback and I've thrown spears before. I threw the javelin and it went a long way until it impaled the grass.

"Let me guess, that didn't meet your expectations." I said to her.

"Actually that was well done. It isn't even close to the record but it isn't terrible." She said. I threw two more javelins and one almost hit a guard in the stomach but he put his shield up in time.

"The last one wasn't very good. The next thing will be archery." She said. Archery isn't so bad. I was decent at it when I was at camp half-blood. I know Carter is amazing at archery and Callista may be trying to see if I'm compatible with Carter. I grabbed a bow and a thing of arrows and shot one at the target. It came close to the middle but not close enough. I shot another one and it also hit the shield of another guard. Finally the third arrow hit the middle of the target and I smiled.

"Well done Maximus. There will be a few more events." She said. The next couple of hours after that I had to complete more challenges. One was a timed sprint around the track, another was a sword fighting completion between myself and a guard (I won by the way), then shot-put and some other things. I needed to push through for Carter. Finally the challenges were over and we had dinner which was lobster.

"I will tell you what I thought about your performance today tomorrow morning. Until then, I'm going to bed." Callista said and excused herself to go upstairs. I said goodnight to Anthony and headed upstairs to my room. I got into bed and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning and got dressed. I walked downstairs to meet with Callista. She sat outside in the main courtyard reading a book.

"Ah Maximus there you are. I was going to send a maid to come get you. I've made my decision." She said and Anthony walked outside.

"What is it?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't think you are worthy enough to marry my daughter." She said in a serious tone. Not worthy enough? What did I do wrong?

"I'm sorry but um why don't you think I'm not good enough for Carter?" I asked her.

"I just don't think the two of you are compatible." She said.

"Fine ask me questions and I'll answer them."

"Where do you want to live?"

"I want to stay in New York."

"Well in Manhattan there aren't any houses and Carter has always said how she wants to live in a house not an apartment or a brownstone."

"Well maybe we could live in a suburb of Manhattan. Any other questions?"

"How many kids do you want?"

"I want at least one maybe two."

"Carter wants three or four. So far you haven't been compatible in your answers. Also you aren't extremely wealthy…"

"Ok so I'm not a duke or heir to any throne but I make an amazing amount of money as an E.R. doctor/surgeon in Manhattan. I know Carter doesn't care about how much money I make, she cares about how much I love her."

"Max, I don't think you are right for my daughter. You didn't do well enough in the challenges yesterday. I've seen better. You might as well forget about my daughter and move on to someone else."

"The thing is, there is no one else out there for me. I love Carter so much. So I'm not amazing at ancient Greek sports. I tried my hardest at it and didn't give up because I know doing these challenges to get permission from you is important to Carter. Those challenges may have tested my strength, my coordination and my speed but they didn't test the one thing that truly matters, my love for Carter. There wasn't one test for me to show how much I love Carter and that is what is important in marriage. I know you don't think I'm good enough to marry Carter because I'm not rich. You can't put a price tag on my love for her. I'm so in love with her and I'm not going to let you stop me from loving your daughter. She makes me happy and I know I make her happy too. I'd do anything for Carter and I will love and protect her until my final breath." I said looking her straight in her eyes.

"Congratulations Maximus, you passed my final challenge." She said.

"Excuse me? What was that?" I asked her.

"I don't care about how strong you are or how fast you can run, all I care about is whether or not you love my daughter. My plan was to tell you that you did terrible and then see what you would say if I told you that you couldn't marry my daughter. You have proven to me that you love her and I give you permission to marry her." Callista said and I smile formed on my face.

"Thank you so much. I promise you that I will take good care of your daughter." I said.

"I know you will Max." she said with a smile. Anthony came over to join us. We talked for a while and I showed them the ring I bought Carter, which they loved. We had lunch outside in the garden and continued to talk more about my future with Carter. I excused myself to go upstairs and take a nap. I decided I would call Carter first. I hope she is available because I really want to hear her voice.

"Hey honey." She said on the line.

"Hey beautiful, how is Paris?" I asked.

"Paris is great. I'm so tired from being in these meetings all day. Luckily we get a lunch break so Alexander and I are going to a restaurant nearby."

"You and Alexander?" I asked her.

"It's not what you think. He invited me to lunch knowing full well that I'm madly in love with you. We are just two friends going to have a little lunch together, that's all. Did you just wake up or are you at the hospital?" she asked.

"I just woke up. I'm heading over to the hospital now. It's been an exhausting couple of days."

"Yeah I'm sure it has been for you. I'm exhausted too. Oh I have some bad news…"

"What is it?" I asked her in a worried tone.

"The conference needs to continue for one more day and I won't be back to New York until halfway through your birthday. I hope you aren't mad at me…"

"Honey it's ok if you can't come till later on in the day. I'm going to let you go have lunch and I'll talk to you later." I said.

"Ok I love and miss you!" she said.

"I love and miss you too. Text me when you can." I said then hung up the phone. It just occurred to me that I was just talking to my future wife.

**I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! The next chapter will be their engagement! Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD I'M-TOO-OUTRAGEOUS-4U! I LOVE YOU DOLL! Anyways thanks everyone for reading and PLEASE REVIEW **


	42. The best birthday ever

**Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I have been waiting to write this chapter for a long time! It's one of the most important chapters of this story, the proposal chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks and I don't own PJO!**

Max's POV

I've been home from Greece for about two days now. Today is my 26th birthday. I'm meeting Clarisse for lunch before Carter gets home. I walked downstairs and saw Duchess was curled up in a black ball on the couch. The minute she heard my footsteps, she shot up and ran to the kitchen expecting to be fed. I walked over to her dog bowl and scooped a cup of food into it then set it down. Like a piranha, she ate it all in less than a minute.

"You must have been hungry." I said to her picking her up and she licked my face. She looked at me with her big light blue eyes and I smiled at her.

"Duchess you are playing a very important part today. I need you to help me propose to Carter." I said then placed her back down on the hardwood floor. She ran over and picked up her ball and came running towards me squeaking it in her mouth. My iPhone buzzed on the counter and I picked it up. A picture of Carter was on the screen and I answered it.

"Happy birthday!" she said with an excited tone.

"Thank you. Shouldn't you be on a plane right now?" I asked her and I heard her sigh through the phone.

"About that…"

"You are going to be home for my birthday, aren't you?" I asked her.

"I hope I am. I got a call this morning saying my flight got cancelled. I was going to call you earlier but I realized you would be asleep. So I went to have brunch with some other ambassadors. Then I got a call saying my flight wasn't cancelled but it would be delayed until 5:30 tonight. I think I should be back by maybe 9 tonight which doesn't give us a lot of time to celebrate. I'm sorry honey…"

"It's ok. As long as you are here to celebrate some part of my birthday then it's ok. I guess I'll let you go but let me know if your flight changes and we discuss that later." I said to her.

"Ok I love you. I'm really sorry honey and I hope you have a great birthday!" she said then hung up the phone. I really hope she gets home tonight because tonight is the night I'm going to propose and I want it to be tonight.

* * *

I walked into the café where I was going to meet Clarisse for lunch. I saw her sitting at a booth reading the menu. She had her light brown hair down on her shoulders and was wearing a brown sweater.

"Happy birthday sis." I said to her and she smiled.

"Thank you, same to you." She said and put her menu down on the wooden table.

"How has your birthday been so far?" I asked her.

"It's been great. Chris made me breakfast and we sat in the living room talking. He had to run over to his office to pick up some paperwork but he said he would be back once I got home. He is giving me my present later. I haven't heard anything from mom or Josh. How has your birthday been?" she asked.

"It has been ok. Carter called me and told me that her flight has been delayed so she may not get here until later on tonight. I've just been bonding with Duchess." I said to her.

"I'm sorry Carter isn't here. Did you have any big plans for the two of you to do today?"

"Well we didn't really plan anything to do today. We were going to just spend the day doing whatever and go out to dinner but I don't think that is happening. I do have something big planned for tonight."

"Ok if it is something that involves the bedroom then I don't want to know…"

"No it doesn't. I'm planning on proposing to Carter tonight." I said.

"Oh congratulations Max! I'm so happy for you. Well only if she says yes but I'm sure she will. That's so exciting! I'm finally going to have a sister!" she said with a smile.

"I'm glad you're happy. I remember when you used to hate Carter." I said and Clarisse took a sip of her water.

"Yes I remember that too. Honestly Max, I used to hate just about everyone including you." She said with a smile.

"Yes you did go through an awkward phase. I really never saw you show any form of emotion until the war." I said.

"Yes I didn't express my feelings very well. I really only cried a few times in my life. The one time when dad confronted me and told me how disappointed he was in me, when Chris was insane from the labyrinth, the other time when Silena died and then on my wedding day but that was from joy not sadness."

"Yeah I think I got the more emotional trait." I said and she laughed.

"Remember when we were five and I put mud and a worm in your cupcake instead of chocolate frosting? You cried like a baby when you took a bite of the cupcake."

"Ok it was disgusting eating mud and to have something moving in your mouth. That birthday you also broke my toy fire truck."

"That was one of my favorite memories of the two of us on our birthday. You have to admit that even with all the bad things that happened on our birthdays, we still had a lot of fun." She said.

"We did have fun like the time we raced and the winner got to choose what kind of cake we would have. I remember because I won that race."

"You only one because you cheated. You tripped me."

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Whatever you want to believe Clarisse." I said with a big smile on my face. Even though Clarisse and I didn't get along when we were kids, we are best friends now. We ate lunch and continued to relive our birthday memories.

"Remember when Josh caught his beard on fire trying to take the cake out of the oven?" Clarisse asked.

"How could I forget that!" I said and we both laughed. I enjoyed talking to Clarisse. After lunch I went back to the apartment. Carter had texted me while I was at lunch that she was boarding her plane. She said she would be back by 9 tonight. So for most of the day I watched T.V. I talked to my mom and Josh on the phone for a while and then Percy came over for a drink. I told him about my plans for proposing and he was really happy for me. He stayed at the apartment with me for a while then left to go be with Annabeth. I waited for Carter to come in through the door but she didn't. Finally the door opened and she walked in. She had her black curls down but had on a red hat with a red coat, red rose heels (again really in the winter time?) and was dragging her red suitcase while holding a white box.

"Happy birthday!" she said then walked over and gave me a kiss.

"Thank you. So the color theme for today must be red." I said jokingly because I'm wearing a red shirt.

"Well it's my favorite color and I know it's yours too so I decided to go red. I guess our dinner plans fell through. I'm so sorry I missed most of your birthday." She said.

"Like I said, it's ok. Why don't we order Chinese food?" I asked her.

"That sounds great. Oh and I bought a cake for you!" She said with a smile.

"I can't wait to have some." I went over and called in our order then sat back down with Carter who had taken off her hat and coat. She was wearing a strapless red dress that had roses and the top and then layered fabric on the bottom that reached about mid-thigh maybe a little longer.

"So what have you been doing on your birthday?" she asked.

"Well I woke up and had breakfast with Duchess then I went and had lunch with Clarisse." I said.

"That must be nice to see your sister on your birthday. Has she had a good birthday?"

"Yeah she said Chris made her breakfast and he was going to spend the day with her but needed to get things from the office."

"I'm really sorry I couldn't spend the day with you. I had a plan to make breakfast for you then we could watch movies and take Duchess on a walk…"

"Carter you can stop apologizing! You had to work and it isn't your fault that the plane got delayed. It was more important to me that you were here for tonight." I said.

"I just feel awful that I missed it. I promise this won't happen again. Oh let me grab your birthday present." She said then walked over to her suitcase. She pulled out a wrapped box from her suitcase. Then she walked over to me and handed me the box. It was wrapped in a red wrapping paper with a gold design and had a huge bow on it.

"How did you get this through security?" I asked her.

"I was just lucky that they didn't open my bag I guess. Open the present!" she said with a smile. I unwrapped the paper and looked at a box with French written on it. I don't speak much French at all so I opened it and saw a red dress shirt. I pulled it out and then I saw more. A silk tie that was just black, a belt that seemed to be real leather and then a pair of dress pants. Knowing Carter, the price of this outfit was probably more than a New York apartment's mortgage. The shirt felt like it was silk too.

"Carter this is amazing! I love it." I said and gave her a kiss.

"I'm glad you like it. I got it at a really high end store in Paris where Armand would get most of his dress shirts and ties. My plan was to give it to you before we had dinner so you could where it but obviously that planned failed." She said.

"Not completely. I'll go put it on for dinner." I said and she smiled. I got changed and came back down and even put a pair of my dress shoes on to complete the look. She gave me a smile and I turned around to model the look and she laughed.

"You look fabulous darling!" she said and I laughed.

"Thank you for this. I really love it and it's so comfortable." I said. While I was up there I grabbed the collar for Duchess with the tag that says, 'Will you marry me?' on it then went to put it around her neck. I have the ring box tucked into my shirt pocket. I put the collar on and walked over to Carter.

"I think you look amazing in this outfit." She said then gave me another kiss. There was a knock on our door and Carter walked over to answer it. It was the man delivering our food. She grabbed her wallet and then Duchess ran out of the apartment.

"I'll go after her!" I said and ran down the hall. Duchess had made it inside an elevator with a couple then before I could get her, the doors shut. I quickly got into the next elevator and then got to the lobby at the same time. I could hear the woman in the elevator get excited.

"Of course I'll marry you!" she said and kissed her boyfriend.

"That dog isn't mine. I don't want to get married!" the guy said and she got back in the elevator and shut the doors. I didn't mean for Duchess to cause trouble in this proposal. She continued to run and made it by the doors outside. I almost grabbed her and she ran outside. She ran down the street while snow was falling from the sky above. My hope was for Duchess not to be hit by a car. I ran after her and then Carter came running out in her red rose heels and her jacket unbuttoned along with her red hat.

"Do you see Duchess?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Duchess is ahead of us but I still see her." I said and ran faster towards Duchess. Carter tried to follow close behind. I could see Duchess and ran closer then finally got her. I walked back over to Carter and smiled.

"Oh thank goodness she is alright and you're alright too. I didn't want either of you to slip from the snow or get hit by a car." She said and gave me a kiss and Duchess a kiss on her head. Carter grabbed Duchess from my arms and cuddled them in hers. Judging by the expression she had, Carter hadn't seen the collar yet. We finally reached our apartment and Carter took off her coat and hat again. We sat back down on the couch and Carter smiled at me.

"Well that was some excitement for my birthday. You should read Duchess's tag to make sure I got the info right." I said to Carter. She looked down and read the 'will you marry me?' and she smiled brightly.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked with a huge grin on her face. I got down on one knee and pulled the ring box from my pocket and opened it. She stood up and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Carter, you have been the most amazing girl in my life. I knew from the day I met you that you were something special. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I hope you want to spend the rest of your life with me. Carter Spiros, will you marry me?" I asked her and she nodded her head with tears rolling down her cheeks. I grabbed her left hand and took off the promise ring and replaced it with the new rose diamond ring. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a big kiss.

"I had no idea this was coming! Did you call my mother and ask for permission?" she asked.

"Actually, while you were in Paris, I went to Greece and completed the courtship challenges and got permission from your mother." I said.

"Wait you actually traveled all the way to Greece to complete the challenges?"

"Of course. I know how important they are to you and I wanted to have your mother's blessing."

"Max, I think my mother tricked you. See the challenges haven't been used in my family since my grandmother's day. I'm really happy you did them though." She said and I smiled at her.

"Anything for my future wife." I said.

* * *

Carter's POV

I spent the rest of the night with Max. We ate our first meal as an engaged couple then after our dinner, we sat on the couch and had cake. I couldn't stop myself from glancing over at the ring. It was so unique and absolutely stunning. I have waited for so long for Max to propose and now that he has, I couldn't be happier. I get to spend the rest of my life with the man I love. For most of the night I talked to him about Paris and about the conference but most of the night we discussed our future together. We talked about where we want to live, where we want to get married, how many kids we want and everything else along those lines. I didn't call anyone to tell them because in two days I meeting the girls for our monthly lunch at the Palm court and I'll share the news with them then.

"Hey honey I'm going to go upstairs if you want to join me." Max said while I finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

"I'll be up in a few minutes." I said then grabbed a towel to dry my hands. I walked up the stairs and saw that Max was already in bed with Duchess lying beside him. I got changed and got into bed. I moved closer to Max and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Did you have a good birthday?" I asked him.

"I think it was the best birthday I have ever had." He said with a smile.

"Did you get everything that you wanted?"

"There was only one gift I wanted…"

"Oh really, what was that?"

"For you to say yes to my proposal and you did. Now I have everything I could ever ask for and more." He said then gave me a kiss.

"You're so cheesy!" I said and he laughed.

"Honey, we have been together for seven years and you just figured this out?"

"No, I've always known you were cheesy. I've dealt with it for seven years, I can deal with it for the rest of my life."

"I love you Carter." He said.

"I love you too Max." I said then gave him a kiss. Every princess deserves to find her knight in shining armor and I'm happy to say that I have found mine.

**I really hope you all enjoyed the proposal chapter! Please REVIEW! Also since I'm the fashion obsessed author, I made the look for Carter's outfit which is on my profile. Check it out!Thanks everyone and I love you all so much :)**


	43. Breakfast at Percy and Annabeth's

**Hello readers! I hope all of you enjoyed the proposal chapter! I really liked writing it! Here is the new chapter, I hope you enjoy! I don't own PJO!**

I woke up the morning after Max's birthday. I can't stop looking at my engagement ring. I'm still so shocked that I'm engaged. I got out of bed and put on my slippers then went downstairs. Max was making himself a cup of coffee. I walked up behind him and gave him a kiss on his neck.

"Good morning the future Mrs. La Rue." he said then turned around and gave me a kiss.

"Good morning." I said to him and he turned around a grabbed another mug. He handed it to me and I could feel the warmth of the steam on my face.

"I made you a cup of tea. I hope it tastes ok." he said. I took a sip and smiled.

"Perfect, thank you for doing that." I said and he smiled back at me. We walked over to the couch and Duchess came running over and sat on the rug in front of the couch. She was wagging her tail and staring at us with her big blue eyes.

"I actually did buy her a new collar and tag. I think it fits her ok." Max said and I placed my mug on the glass table and picked up Duchess who licked my face. I looked at the tag and her red collar stood out against her midnight black fur. Duchess will only be a puppy for so long before she grows into a huge horse sized dog in a few years.

"Everything is correct on her collar. I really did love the way you proposed to me last night. It was very romantic and cute." I said.

"I'm really happy you liked it. I didn't want to do something that was typical and boring like asking you over dinner. I'm just glad that I get to marry the love of my life." he said and I smiled.

"I guess I have something to do during the day, plan our wedding." I said and he laughed.

"I'll help you plan too. So for starters, when and where do you want to get married?" Max asked me.

"Well ever since I was little I have always had the place I want to get married at."

"Where is that?"

"At the palace, there is a beautiful rose garden that is next to water. There is a wall at the end of the garden that is covered in vines and is so beautiful."

"That sounds amazing. If we got married in Greece, then we could get married during anytime of the year."

"What about December?" I suggested. He looked to be thinking about it for a while.

"December it is!" he said and we both smiled. My phone buzzed on the glass table and I picked it up to see a picture of Annabeth and myself on the screen.

"Hey Annabeth whats up?" I asked her.

"Nothing really. So I was wondering if you and Max would like to come over to Percy and my apartment for breakfast. Thalia and Nico are coming too."

"That sounds great! Max and I will be over shortly."

"Great, we will see you soon!" she said then the call ended.

"What's going on?" Max asked me.

"Annabeth and Percy invited us over for breakfast along with Thalia and Nico. I told her we would be over soon."

"Great then I'll go get ready." Max said and walked upstairs.

* * *

We drove over to Percy and Annabeth's apartment through the black colored mush that was once a thick blanket of white snow. We got out of the car and took the elevator to their floor. We knocked on the door and I heard Thalia yell "It's open!" We opened the door and Thalia was sitting on the couch eating a piece of toast.

"Hey Thals!" I said to her and walked over and gave her a hug.

"Hey Carter." she said with a mouthful of bread. Nico walked over and rolled his eyes.

"Hi Nico." I said to him.

"Hey Carter how are you?" he asked looking at Thalia with a small grin.

"I'm great and you?" I asked.

"I'm good. Nothing to exciting in life. How was your birthday Max?" Nico asked him as Percy and Annabeth walked into the room.

"I would say I had the best birthday ever." he said then gave me a kiss.

"I'm sure you gave him an extra special present Carter." Thalia said with a wink.

"Get it Max." Percy said and Max and I blushed.

"Percy!" Annabeth said and hit him on the arm.

"Come on we're all adults here. We know what goes on at night..."

"Moving on..." I said desperately trying to change the topic.

"Why don't we all sit at the table for breakfast." Annabeth said and we walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. There were plates of food on the counter and we all went up to serve ourselves. Actually we all did but Thalia who made Nico get her breakfast. None of us are really sure how Thalia and Nico are still a happy couple. Basically Thalia made Nico her bitch and he does almost everything she tells him to do. If it works for them then I'm happy for them. We all sat down at the table.

"Annabeth since when do you cook?" I asked her and we all laughed. Everyone knows that Annabeth tries to cook but she isn't amazing at it. I think it really irritates her that she can't cook since she is a perfectionist like me.

"I just made the fruit salad. Percy did the rest." Annabeth said.

"I can tell by the blue pancakes. How old are you Percy?" I asked him jokinly.

"You are never too old to have blue pancakes. I will have them for the rest of my life. My kids will have blue pancakes and their kids will too." he said and Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled.

"The two of you finally agreed to have kids?" Max asked.

"Well so far we have agreed to at least one child. Annabeth will realize that she wants another child after our first child is born." Percy said.

"We will see about that." Annabeth said.

"What about you two? Have you discussed kids?" I asked Thalia and Nico.

"One day just not right now." Nico said.

"Kids are really annoying and I don't want one right now." Thalia said.

"Aren't you a substitute teacher?" I asked her.

"Your point?" she asked me.

"Never mind." I said then took a bite out of my pancake.

"So have you two discussed future plans?" Annabeth asked Max and I.

"Actually we have some news..."

"Am I going to be an aunt?" Thalia asked.

"No. At least not right now. Max and I are engaged!" I said and everyone smiled.

"Congrats!" Annabeth said then walked over and gave me a hug.

"Let's see the rock." Thalia said and I held out my left hand.

"Wow Carter that's gorgeous!" Annabeth said and I smiled.

"Thanks. I love this ring!" I said and Max wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Max you do realize you are supposed to buy a ring and not a glacier, right?" Thalia asked and Max just rolled his eyes.

"I'm aware. I saw this ring and knew it was the one for Carter." Max said.

"That's so sweet. How did you propose?" Annabeth asked Max.

"Well first I had to go to Greece and complete the challenges for Callista to allow me to marry Carter. Then last night, I got a dog collar with a tag that said 'Will you marry me?' on it and I put it around Duchess's neck. Duchess ended up making a run for it outside the apartment building. Carter and I chased her down and then I handed Carter Duchess and told Carter to read the tag." Max said.

"That's so creative!" Annabeth said.

"Thanks. It will be a moment we won't forget." Max said and gave me a kiss.

"Did you guys talk about where and when you want to get married?" Percy asked.

"We're getting married in December possibly at the palace in Athens." I said.

"Another wedding in Greece. That would be fun." Annabeth said.

"Yeah we have talked about it here and there. So how is the wedding planning going for the two of you?" I asked Percy and Annabeth.

"It's going really well. We have almost everything planned." Annabeth said.

"That's great! Oh speaking of weddings... Annabeth, Thalia will you two be my matrons of honor?" I asked them.

"Of course I will!" Annabeh said.

"I thought it was just implied." Thalia said.

"So does that mean that Nico and I are going to be your best men?" Percy asked Max.

"No, I'm asking Chris and Connor to be my best men."

"Really?" Nico asked.

"I'm kidding. Of course I want you two to be my best men." Max said.

"Oh the bridesmaids dresses came in yesterday. Do you two want to try them on?" Annabeth asked Thalia and I. We nodded our heads and followed Annabeth back to the bedroom where she pulled out two royal blue dresses. She handed each of us one and we tried them on. They were gorgeous. They were floor length, royal blue with a beaded thick sash and had a strap going up the left shoulder. The dresses made Thalia and my eyes pop.

"Annabeth these dresses are going to look gorgeous in Santorini." I said to her.

"You both look stunning in them. I';m so happy with how they look!" she said with a bright smile.

"So what kind of shoes are we wearing with these?" I asked Annabeth.

"I'm thinking probably silver heels of some sort. Then I think I'll have all of you wear your hair up in a bun." Annabeth said.

"I usually hate dresses but this one I love. Nice job Annabeth." Thalia said admiring herself in the full-length mirror.

"This is so exciting! Just wait till you get to plan your wedding Carter. Soon Thals and I will be the ones trying on bridesmaids dresses." Annabeth said.

"I can't wait!"

* * *

Max and I returned back to the apartment. The rest of the day we just relaxed. We took Duchess on a short walk around Central Park and we also discussed our plans for the wedding. I called my mother to tell her about the engagement. She was reallt happy for Max and I. I know there is one person who is going to hate the idea of Max and I getting married, that person being Mrs. La Rue.

**This chapter is a little shorter but my friend I'm-too-outrageous-4u wanted me to write it. She gave me the idea so thank you to her. Anyways please review! Thanks everyone!**


	44. Hazel and Frank's wedding

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERCY! I made blue cupcakes to celebrate. If I wasn't in such an off place in my story right now, I would have done a birthday chapter since it's also Carter's birthday :) I hope you all are doing well! So this is the Frazel wedding chapter! I hope you enjoy it and I don't own PJO!**

Today is the second of March about a month and a half since Max and I got engaged. About two days after Max and I went over to Percy and Annabeth's apartment, me and all the girls had lunch at the palmcourt. The only girls who knew Max and I got engaged were Annabeth, Thalia and Clarisse knew Max was proposing. I told all the girls the exciting news and all were so happy for me. Sadria is going to design my wedding dress which makes me so excited! I'm packing my things for New Orleans as of right now. Why New Orleans? Well in two days it will be Mardi Gras and on Mardi Gras, Hazel and Frank are getting married. Like Leo and Reyna, Frank and Hazel are eloping but they invited us all to witness their marriage. The only request Hazel had was that all the girls wear purple, green or gold because those are the Mardi Gras colors. I packed my gold sequin dress into my suitcase just as Max walked in through the door. I walked over to the railing that overlooks the rest of our apartment and waved at him.

"Hello beautiful, I'll be up in a minute." he said slipping off his shoes and taking off his jacket then walking up the stairs. He was still in his periwinkle scrubs from the hospital and he looked exhausted. He gave me a kiss the fell back onto our bed. I grabbed my suitcase from my side of the bed and placed it on our hardwood floor. I layed on the bed and moved closer to Max who wrapped his arm around me.

"How was the hospital?" I asked him.

"Today was exhausting. I had to deliver not one but two babies." he said.

"Don't you mean twins?" I said to him.

"No I mean I delivered babies for two different families. When we have kids, I'll know how to deal with everything in the delivery room. One man passed out while his wife was in labor, the other man had an emotional breakdown on how he thought he couldn't be a father."

"I know that when we have kids, that you will be very supportive and know the do's and don'ts of the delivery room." I said.

"Yes I will know how to help you through everything. Speaking of babies, when is Kat due?"

"She is do I think March 13th."

"Then why is she flying? Well how is she able to fly if her due date is eleven days away?" Max asked.

"Well we are taking my private jet to New Orleans so she can fly. Another reason we are taking my jet is so she can lay down and rest comfortably. It will be fine because she has you and Nico to help her if she goes into an early labor." I said.

"I don't think she should be flying but as long as she follows the directions given to her by her doctor then it should be fine." he said.

"I can't wait for my niece or nephew to be born!" I said and he rolled his eyes and smiled.

"I know you can't. I'm going to sleep because I'm exhausted. Good night." he said then gave me a kiss.

* * *

We got on the jet to New Orleans. Kat was lying down on one of the couches in the jet. Spencer was sitting next to her rubbing her arm. Hazel and Frank were sitting on the couch across from mine. They were smiling and so happy to get married. After a few hours of flying, we landed in New Orleans. I could tell that Hazel was happy to be back in her hometown because she was examining every building and smiling as we walked down the streets. We got to the hotel and dropped off our bags. We walked around the city for a few hours looking at small shops and trying authentic New Orleans food. We walked around the French Quarter which was really beautiful. New Orleans is an amazing city. Everyone is so kind and the town is really lively. Hazel showed us around the city and explained what has changed since she lived here. After shopping at the little boutiques in town then having dinner, we returned back to the hotel. Hazel asked all the girls to come to her room to discuss the plans for the wedding. We all walked in and she was sitting on her bed playing with a necklace.

"Hey Hazel, how are you doing?" I asked her. She looked up with her big brown eyes.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you girls about what you are wearing tomorrow." she said. We all went through and explained our dresses and accessories. She approved of all of them then walked over to the dresser in the room and grabbed a box. She opened the box up and placed the necklace inside the box and shut the lid.

"Did you need to ask us something?" Annabeth asked her.

"Do you think I need to add anything to my outfit for tomorrow?" she asked holding up her dress and then showing her shoes and jewelry.

"I think it's very put together. You're going to look stunning Hazel." Sadria said.

"Is it a bad thing that I feel nervous?" Hazel asked us.

"It is really normal to feel that way. I mean it's a big deal to make a lifetime commitment to someone. You love Frank and he loves you back. There isn't anything to be nervous about going wrong." Sadria said.

"Thanks Sadria. I need to get some rest for the big day. I'll see you all tomorrow." Hazel said and we all exited to the hallway.

* * *

The next day all the girls went over to Hazel's room. Since Hazel is old-fashioned, she didn't want to see Frank until the wedding. Since today was Mardi Gras, we decided to go to the parades and celebrations around town since Frank and Hazel aren't getting married until tonight. The parades during the day are pretty innocent. Most floats threw green, purple and gold beads to the children along with candy and other little treasures. I know that tonight, on the same exact street, there will be a lively and reckless vibe that is anything but innocent. I could tell that Hazel was enjoying walking around during the 'innocent' part of the festivities. Hazel has always come off as innocent just like a child. It actually surprised me that she and Frank wanted to have their wedding in a city that is full of drunks and wild people filling the streets. I looked over at Hazel who caught a string of purple beads that she then put on and they hung loosely from her neck. We continued to walk along and I noticed that Sadria seemed agitated. Her eyes were fixated on the screen of her iPhone and her thumbs were moving at rapid speed along the screen.

"Sadria, you ok?" I asked her. Everyone turned around to face Sadria who had a worried look on her face.

"I'm really stressed out right now." she said.

"Why are you so stressed?" Annabeth asked.

"So are any of you familiar with Anna Wintour?" Sadria asked.

"The editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine." I said. The only girls that seemed to know who Anna Wintour was were Annabeth and Kat.

"Yeah, so I'm being given the opportunity to present my collection to her once we return to New York." Sadria said.

"Well that's great, isn't it?" Thalia asked.

"It is but it's also very stressful. I'm in competition with another designer who I detest and I'm facing the Queen of fashion. Anna Wintour will either adore my collection or she will despise everything about the collection, there is no inbetween. Anna will either make or break you as a designer." Sadria said.

"How did you this opportunity anyways?" I asked her. I've actually met Anna Wintour once before. She radiates power and she will take down anyone to get what she wants. She has destroyed many careers in the fashion business but she also has created some of the most idolized designers.

"As you all know I work for Christian Louboutin. Well I've met with him several times in his office in Paris to help create some of the latest shoe designs. He told me that I have great potential in the business and told me that he would support me if I chose to create my own line. He is very close to Anna Wintour and he convinced her to give me a chance to present my collection for the upcoming issue of Vogue."

"Sadria I hope that everything goes well with you and Anna Wintour. So are you stressing about meeting her or..."

"Yes I'm so stressed. I have my assistant prepping my outfits from my collection to present to Anna. You know how the fashion business is, it's a dog-eat-dog world."

"I'm sure you will do fine." I told her and she managed to smile. We continued to walk then finally returned to the hotel to get ready.

I went into my hotel room and got changed into my evening dress. Hazel had instructed us to wear gold, purple or green. She said it could be as simple as a sundress or more sophisticated into a cocktail dress. I found the perfect dress to wear for the occasion. It is long-sleeved gold sequin dress that hits slightly above the knees. I then put in my dented circular gold earrings and then my sparkly gold Jimmy-Choo heels. I grabbed my gold mask because Hazel also told us to wear masks for the Mardi Gras experience. I walked into Hazel's room where the rest of the girls were. Reyna stood in a one-shoulder violet cocktail dress that was somewhat gathered near the torso. She then was wearing violet heels and had matching violet chandelier earrings. She also held a purple mask in her left hand with her diamond ring glistening in the light. Sadria was wearing an emerald green one-shoulder dress with matching pointed-heels along with a green cuff and lace earrings. She had placed her emerald-green mask on the desk in the room. Like Reyna, Piper was wearing a strapless violet cocktail dress with a sequin bodice and silver kitten-heels along with a violet cuff and a pair of violet earrings. Clarisse had on an evergreen colored dress with silver embellishments on the straps. She kept it simple with silver hoops, silver bangles and then had silver heeled sandals to top of the look. Annabeth had on a gold one-shoulder dress that shined under the light. She wore gold heels and seemed to be wearing a pair of Piper's gold earrings. Annabeth's golden locks were in their natural state and fell nicely against her tan skin. Kat was also wearing a gold dress that had a white sash that was just above her baby bump and emphasized her stomach. She had a pair of diamond studs and a simple gold bangle as her accessories and then had on a pair of gold heels. Knowing Kat, she will probably give birth while wearing heels. Thalia had on an emerald-green dress with black accents. She then had a pair of emerald teardrop earrings and a match bracelet then wore a pair of green Louboutin heels. Nobody could compare to Hazel. She had an ivory knee-length ball gown style wedding dress with lace sleeves. She had a pair of white pearl earrings and a matching pearl necklace that stood out against her dark skin. She had a pair of ivory lace heeled sandals on to complete the outfit. Sadria was then helping Hazel pin the ivory birdcage veil in Hazel's mane of curls. Hazel looked so gorgeous and elegant.

We all walked out of the hotel and went down a few streets until we reached a chapel that was downtown. It was very small but was in an old building near Bourbon street. We walked inside and saw the guys. Frank, Jason, and Leo weren't in the room.

"Frank, Leo and Jason are inside the actual chapel getting ready for the ceremony." Max said.

"Hazel you look beautiful." Percy said to her and she smiled. From what I have heard from Annabeth, Percy and Hazel had almost a brother-sister relationship.

"Yeah Hazel you look amazing." Nico said and she smiled again. A man in his late thirties maybe early forties came out to meet us.

"You must be the bride, I will be officiating the ceremony." he said. He spoke with a southern accent and like Hazel, was African-American. When you looked at the two of them next to each other, they looked very similar in the face from the eyes to the same chocolate skin.

"Great then um should I wait out here?" Hazel asked.

"Yes Darling you should. the rest of you can follow me inside the chapel." he said.

"When do I know to walk in?" she asked again.

"When the music starts playing." the man said then we followed him into the chapel. It was a small chapel with about five rows of pews. The walls were white and at the altar there were many flowers along with a golden arch and red curtains on the sides of the altar. Frank stood at the altar with a big smile. He was wearing classic black tuxedo with a gold bow tie. The officiate played the piano with the 'Here Comes the Bride' tune. We all stood and turned to face the back. Hazel walked in carrying a small bouquet of white roses. She had a huge smile on her face as she walked down the aisle towards the altar. The song finished as she walked up the three steps to the altar and turned to face Frank who was beaming with happiness.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this man in Holy matrimony." the officiate said. He continued to talk about how marriage is a milestone in everyone's lives then it was time to exchange vows.

"Hazel, I can honestly say I'm in love with my best friend. You and I have been through so many challenges and life-changing experiences that brought us closer together. I literally trusted you with my life and you didn't fail me. Everytime I see you, it brings a smile to my face. I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much Hazel and I promise to love you for as long as I live." Frank said and Hazel started to tear up.

"Frank, you were there for me when I needed someone the most. You looked past my flaws and you love me for who I am and not for the twisted past I had. You always feel embarrassed at the moments when you mess up but I love you for your imperfections. I'm so lucky to have found someone who treasures me and would love me through all the challenges we faced and have yet to overcome. I love you so much and I wouldn't trade you for anyone." Hazel said with tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks.

"Frank Marcus Zhang, do you take Hazel Marie Levesque to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." he said smiling at Hazel.

"Hazel Marie Levesque, do you take Frank Marcus Zhang to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." she said and looked into Franks deep eyes.

"By the state of Louisiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." the officiant said and Frank leaned in and kissed Hazel. We all clapped as the walked down the aisle. We all got up and followed them to the commons area of the chapel.

"Congratulations!" We all screamed and Frank and Hazel smiled.

"The restaurant is on Bourbon street. So is everyone ready?" Hazel asked and we all nodded. We walked a few blocks to get to Bourbon street. People in costumes and other crazy assembles mobbed the street. We got inside to the restaurant and sat down at a long table. Hazel and Frank had ordered traditional southern dishes along with New Orleans specialties. We ate and talked about Frank and Hazel's future plans. They said they planned to stay in California since it was close to Camp Jupiter where they go to help out campers during the summer. We finished dinner and walked outside to the celebration. Floats full of crazy dressed people and dancers drove by along the road throwing out beads to the spectators along the curb. Mardi Gras is just as crazy as everyone says it is. Women are very carefree when it comes to their appearances and everyone seems to have consumed way too much alcohol. We all had our masks on and walked along the street. Hazel had a beautiful ivory lace mask with pearls sewed to the detail of the mask. Frank had a black mask on with gold accents. We continued to take part in the festivities then after a while we returned to the hotel. Hazel had a cake made for the wedding that was in her and Frank's room. It was white with a purple, green and gold mask on top. Then on the bottom it was white with gold stripes going down it then on the middle layer it was gold icing with alternating rows of vertical purple and green diamonds with strands of purple, green and gold beads hanging from it. The cake was so well done and delicious too. Well delicious to everyone but Sadria apparently. She ran into the bathroom holding her mouth. Connor got up and walked into the bathroom to see if she was ok. He came back out in just a few minutes with a smirk on his face.

"Is she ok?" I asked him and he just rolled his eyes.

"Never thought I would say this but Sadria is drunk." he said. No one would ever expect for Sadria to be drunk. She has never been a party girl nor much of a drinker. She was the most responsible when it came to partying during highschool.

"I finally get to see the goode-two-shoes one of the family be drunk." Percy said with a smile on his face.

"I think she just got so stressed with work that she wanted to take the edge off and well had one to many to drink." Connor said. Sadria came out and stumbled as she walked. We all tried to not laugh at this unexpected scene but we finally burst out laughing.

"Why are you all laughing at me?" Sadria said.

"Honey I think you need to lay down." Connor said.

"I'm fine." she said then tripped on air and fell into Connor's arms. Percy and Kat were taking much pleasure in seeing their 'perfect' sister have a moment of imperfection. Connor grabbed Sadria's arm and helped her walk out of the room after saying his goodnights to us. We continued to talk then we all headed back to the hotel rooms.

* * *

The next day later we all went to the airport to get a flight back to Manhattan. Sadria of course had a terrible hangover. We all got back on my jet to Manhattan. It was a very fun couple of days with my friends. The next big thing to happen within our group will be the birth of my future niece or nephew.

**I hope the chapter was good for you! Once agin happy birthday to Percy and thanks for reading! Please review :) Oh and check out my outfits for the girls on my profile! Thanks :)**


	45. Kat and Spencer Become Parents

**Hey everyone! So I hope you enjoyed the Frazel wedding chapter! Also celebrating Percy's birthday **** Anyways, here is my lovely chapter! Enjoy and I don't own PJO!**

I sat in my apartment drinking my evening cup of and reading the outrageous tabloids. I find it so amusing how the paparazzi makes up stupid and ridiculous stories. I know this because many ridiculous stories have been made up about me. Like the one time I wore a flowy top and they thought I was pregnant. The tabloids are such jokes anymore. Duchess was lying on the rug in front of the couch asleep. She looked so peaceful as she always does when she is asleep. Sally had offered to watch Duchess for us while we were in New Orleans. When we went to pick Duchess up, she ran so fast into us that we thought she would knock either one or both of us to the ground. It's been about eight days since we returned from New Orleans. No news from Kat about the baby. Today was her due date but since it's eleven at night, I don't think the baby will be born today. Max is working the night shift so it's just Duchess and I in the apartment. I decided to read more of my magazine then I dozed off and woke up around two in the morning. I got up and turned everything off then went upstairs to go to bed. It took me a little bit but I finally got comfortable, then my phone rang. I leaned over and picked up my phone then answered it.

"Hello?" I asked in my half-asleep state.

"Hey Carter, its Spencer. Kat is in labor right now so I was hoping you would come down soon."

"I'll be down at the hospital soon." I said.

"Thanks I'll see you soon." He said then hung up the phone. I got changed then grabbed my purse and drove over to the hospital. I walked in and saw Annabeth and Percy sitting in the waiting area.

"Hey guys." I said to them.

"Hey Carter." Annabeth said.

"Why does Kat have to give birth at two in the morning?" Percy said shutting his eyes.

"She can't help when she gives birth Percy." Annabeth said rolling her eyes.

"Whatever I'm shutting my eyes." He said then put his head on the back of the chair.

"Do you want to go see Kat?" Annabeth asked me.

"Sure let's go see her." I said then we walked into the room where Kat was staying. She was in the bed with her a depressed expression on her face.

"Hey Kat how are you doing?" I asked her.

"I think I'm dying." She said.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Annabeth asked her.

"No. I'll push through this. Where the hell is the doctor?" she said then got an expression of pain across her face.

"I'm coming." I heard a familiar voice say then Max walked into the room.

"You're delivering Kat's baby?" I asked him.

"Yeah I am. The E.R. was slowing down and then Kat came in and they asked me to take care of her so here I am." He said. "How are you feeling Kat?"

"I'm dying!" she said.

"That's pretty normal. Once you reach at least four centimeters, then you can have the epidural if you want it…"

"Yes I want it! How far along am I?" she asked.

"You're only at two centimeters." Max said and Kat tilted her head back.

"Why must this be so painful!" she said. Sadria and Sally walked into the room.

"Hey sis how are you feeling?" Sadria asked.

"Do you really need to ask that? How the fuck do you think I'm feeling?" Kat told her.

"Language!" Sally said and both Kat and Sadria rolled their eyes.

"Honey can I get you anything?" Sally asked.

"A bottle of wine would be nice." Kat said.

"No drinking while pregnant and about a month after you give birth." Max said.

"Max shut up what do you know?" Kat responded.

"Considering I'm a doctor I think I know what I'm doing."

"Who made you a doctor anyways?" Kat asked.

"Princeton University made me a doctor then I was hired by this hospital." Max said then brought over a bucket to Kat.

"Why are you giving me ice?" she asked and Max rolled his eyes.

"So you can chew on them to make the pain more tolerable. Also you're sweating so it might cool you down." Kat responded by throwing a couple of ice chips at Max's face.

"When can I have the medication!" Kat said screaming. I'm sure the whole hospital could hear her. Kat maybe only 5 feet tall but the girl can be very frightening.

"In a little bit. Kat I know this is painful but please calm down." Max said in the calmest tone but she still fussed. Spencer leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Sadria asked.

"We won't know until he or she is born." Spencer said.

"Do you want one in particular?" Sadria asked.

"A girl!" Kat said.

"I would love to have a little girl but I would also love to have a son who I can play football with." Spencer said.

"I totally agree with you Spencer." Max said and then he looked over at me and smiled.

"I think we should give Kat some rest." Sally said then we followed her out into the waiting room. Thalia and Nico got there and they were asleep in the chairs. Connor was sitting there too with his iPad on his lap typing away. Clarisse and Chris were sitting in the chairs talking to each other and smiling. Sadria sat down next to Connor and he gave her a kiss.

"What are you working on?" she asked him.

"A case for involuntary manslaughter." He said.

"That sounds rough." I said to him.

"It is rough but that's what lawyers have to deal with sometimes. I'm glad it wasn't' something worse like murder or another disturbing case. This case involved a drunk driver who crashed into a car killing the driver. My job is to help the man get the least amount of time in prison." He said. Sadria was sketching in her notebook. It was a shoe design that she drew in full detail, well everything but the color.

"Another shoe design?" I asked her.

"Yeah but this design is special. I'm going to design this shoe after my niece, well if it's a girl. If it is a girl then I'll get inspired by her and I'll name the shoe after her. If it's a boy, then I'm also doing a men's line for shoes and I'll design a shoe based on him and name it after him." She said.

"That's such a cool idea Sadria." I said to her.

"Thanks. It came to me the other night when I was given the project." She said finishing her sketch. Annabeth and Percy were still asleep in the chairs. Kat began screaming again then suddenly it stopped. Max came out of the room carrying a clipboard.

"Is Kat ok?" I asked him.

"Oh she is doing much better now that she has the epidural. I'm not going to lie, but it is a little weird delivering my friends' baby."

"I would imagine it would be weird. Let me know how she is doing." I said to him.

"I'll let everyone know if something big happens." He said then returned to the room where Kat was staying. We all waited around for hours. I dozed off for a while but then I was awoken to the sound of Kat screaming. She screamed for a while then it completely stopped. A few minutes later Spencer came out of the room smiling.

"Would you all like to meet my daughter?" he asked and we all got up and followed him into the room. Kat was sitting up in the bed cradling a baby wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms.

"She's so beautiful. What is her name?" Sadria asked Kat.

"Her name is Ariel." She said. I noticed why they would name their daughter that. Ariel had the same cherry red hair that Kat has and looked like Ariel from the little mermaid.

"You mean that your hair is naturally red?" Clarisse asked her.

"Yes it's naturally red and so is my daughter's." Kat said. We all took turns holding Ariel in our arms. She was so tiny and so calm. It hit me that two of my friends are parents now. My brother is a father now. It was so hard to believe how much time has passed. It seemed like just yesterday I was meeting Spencer and Kat for the first time and now they are married and parents. Sadria pulled out her sketchbook and finished the drawing of the shoe. It was an open-toe heel with a sparkly aqua anterior and then a cherry red interior topped off with Christian Louboutin's signature red sole. The shoe was perfect. My little niece or half niece whatever you want to call it, Ariel Bolt was born on March 14th.

* * *

Max's POV

It has been about two weeks since Ariel was born. To give Kat a break, the girls took her to a spa day to relax her and have some bonding time. Spencer invited the guys to come over to hang out. Percy and I got to Spencer and Kat's brownstone at the same time and we knocked on the door. Spencer came to the door holding Ariel in one arm.

"Hey guys come on inside and watch out for baby toys." Spencer said then we followed him inside to where the living room is located. Across the floor were rattles, dolls and stuffed animals. Spencer was cradling Ariel is his arms while we talked to him.

"So what's it like being a father?" I asked him.

"It's great. I love being a dad and taking care of my little girl. I mean being woken up in the middle of night and changing diapers suck but that's part of the deal." He said. Connor, Chris and Nico showed up and we all sat in the living room. Ariel started to cry so Spencer got up and gave her a bottle. The phone rang and Spencer got up top get it.

"Do you mind burping her?" he asked me and handed me Ariel.

"No problem." I said then Spencer got the phone and seemed to be talking to Kat. I grabbed a burp cloth and that made no difference at all. Ariel spit up on my shoulder and it dripped down the back of my shirt.

"Isn't the purpose of the cloth to prevent vomit from dripping down your back?" Connor asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Shut up Connor. I'm trying and that's what matters." I said then Ariel started to cry. I bounced her in my arms but nothing seemed to cheer her up.

"I'll take her." Chris said then I handed him Ariel. She held her for a few minutes and Ariel stopped the crying,

"Nice job Chris." I said to him and he smiled.

"Let me hold her." Connor said then Chris handed him Ariel. Within seconds she started crying again.

"I don't think she cares much for her uncle Connor." Percy said.

"Fine do you want to see your uncle Percy?" Connor asked Ariel and passed her to Percy. Percy sat down on an exercise ball and started rocking her to sleep. Ariel fell asleep within minutes in Percy's arms.

"Dude you're amazing with children." I said to him.

"I know, children love me." He said with a cocky smile.

"Thanks guys for coming over and helping me out." Spencer said.

"No problem, we will talk to you soon." I said and then me along with the other guys left. I returned to the apartment to see Carter cooking dinner. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey honey, how was babysitting?" she asked.

"It was great. Well it was great until Ariel puked down my back." I said and turned around and she chuckled.

"Honey that's going to happen. Even with our own children." She said.

"You think our kids are going to puke on me?" I asked her jokingly.

"I don't think, I know they will. We have a little bit of time before that." She said.

"Being able to practice being a dad will make me a great father when we have children." I said and she smiled.

"I know you will make a great dad." She said then gave me a kiss.

"And you will make an even better mom." I said to her and she smiled.

"Oh speaking of moms, your mother called and she didn't seem happy."

"I'll call her in a minute." I said then walked upstairs to call my mom. I know exactly what she is calling about, I never told her that carter and I are engaged and she probably just found out.

**Let me know what you all think! Credit to I'm-too-outrageous-4u for coming up with Ariel and for helping me with the story! Thanks everyone, please REVIEW :)**


	46. Paintball is not my sport

**Hello my lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed Ariel being born! The first of many children to be born in this group of stories. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter! I don't own PJO!**

It has been about three weeks since Ariel was born. Annabeth and Percy decided to take Max, Thalia, Nico and I on a day full of paintball. It's like a pre-bachelor and bachelorette party. I have never played paintball but Max told me e and Clarisse would play paintball with some of the kids in Aimesly. We drove over to Annabeth and Percy's apartment to meet up before the game.

"Are you ready to be owned?" Percy asked us in his usual cocky tone.

"I'm really excited." I said and everyone laughed at me. "What's so funny?" I asked them.

"This is your first time, isn't it?" Annabeth asked me.

"Yeah it is. Why does that matter?" I asked them.

"It will be a lot more fun for us I'm sure." Thalia said. We continued to talk about the game as we drove over to the wooded area where we would be playing.

"Did you hear that Spencer and Kat chose Ariel's middle name to be Sadria?" I asked them.

"I'm kind of offended." Percy said.

"Did you think they would choose Ariel Percy Bolt?" I asked him.

"It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I mean come on I'm way more amazing than Sadria. I mean I saved the world and I'm a professional athlete. Sadria lived underwater and she designs clothing. Big deal." Percy said and I rolled my eyes. We pulled up to the building where the paintball games are played. We walked in and saw a man reading an magazine with his feet propped up on a desk.

"Are you all here for some paintball?" he asked us. He had one missing tooth and had an edgy vibe to him.

"Yeah there are six of us and we will pair up into three teams." Annabeth said to the man.

"Have you done this before?" he asked us.

"All but one of us hasn't done it but we will fill her in on the instructions." Annabeth said.

"Sounds good to me. In that room back there is your gear. I'll hand you your guns after everyone is geared up." he said. We walked back to the room where the gear was hanging on the wall. The girls gear was on the left and the guys gear was on the right.

"You will want to braid your hair." Annabeth said as she braided her hair down her back. Thalia pulled her short locks into a tiny ponytail.

"Ok but why?" I asked her.

"Because if you don't it will get disgusting." she responded. I began braiding my long black curls into a neat braid down my back. I finished braiding my hair and glanced down at my ring.

"Should I take my engagement ring off?" I asked her.

"No keep it on. It will be protected by gloves." Annabeth said as she put a black padded vest over her torso.

"Max do you find it weird that you're marrying your aunt?" Percy asked him with a smile.

"Dude what did you just say? That's disgusting and I would say the same thing about you and Annabeth." Max said.

"Annabeth is my second cousin which is technically legal." Percy said then Max turned to face Nico.

"Well you married your first cousin." he said to Nico.

"Look at it this way, marry my first cousin compared to you marrying your aunt. Which is creepier?" Nico asked him.

"Whatever you know our blood lines don't follow the typical humans blood lines. Carter and I don't think about that. Besides, I'm a year older than her."

"Age doesn't matter and who cares about our blood line." I said.

"Age doesn't matter, that's what cougars say when they are questioned about their boyfriends." Thalia said.

"Thalia shut up. If you want to get technical our father married his sister." I said to her. The guy working there gave us a weird look and then turned away. We finished getting suited up and walked back out into the main room.

"You all need to decide on your team names." the man said and Percy smiled.

"Ours will be Saviors of Olympus." he said and Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?" I asked him.

"I know Carter, you're so jealous." he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Ours will be Thalia is Awesome and Death to Barbie." Thalia said and Nico just shrugged and the man wrote it down on the clipboard.

"Max what should ours be?" I asked him.

"I don't know honey." he said to me.

"Why don't you do Stupider and Stupidest?" Thalia suggested and I shot her a look.

"I was Salutitorian of our grade." I said.

"Fine why don't you do Smart ass and Dumb Ass?" she said and I just gave her another look.

"Why don't we do Queen and King of Athens?" I asked Max and he smiled.

"I like that." he said then gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"Can I alter my team name to Thalia is Awesome and Death to Barbie and Princess?" Thalia asked the man.

"Wait are you implying I'm Barbie?" Annabeth asked her.

"You look like one and then we have the proper princess over here." Thalia said looking at me.

"Hey just because I'm a princess doesn't mean that I can't play paintball." I said to her.

"I don't think you really stand a chance against us. I mean I was fighting monsters at 12, Annabeth was fighting them since she was 7, Nico is a part of the big three, Max was at camp when he was like 10, and Percy was at camp since he was 12 and he is apart of the big three." Thalia said.

"I can shoot a bow and arrow plus I'm apart of the big three." I said to her.

"You came to camp at the age of 17 and you have so much OCD that if you see a crumb on the ground, you must pick it up." Thalia said.

"Whatever Thalia I'll try my best at this game." I said to her. We got our guns and were assigned our teams color. Annabeth and Percy were blue, Thalia and Nico were green and Max and I are red. We got out into the woods.

"LET THE GAMES BEGIN!" Percy shouted and we all spread out into the woods. Max and I hid behind a fallen tree.

"This reminds me of the first time I played capture the flag." I said to Max.

"Us hiding behind a fallen tree. But as I remember, you got hurt. Offense really isn't your position." he said to me and I laughed. Then a blue paintball shot me in the right shoulder. I really don't think there is much difference between a paintball and a bullet. Both hurt like hell.

"Damn that hurt!" I said then more blue paint balls came our way. Max was shot in the torso but wasn't phased at all. He shot back and then green paint balls came our way and one hit me in the left leg. We ran as we shot more red paint balls at our friends. Max continued to shoot while I took cover.

"Why don't we split up?" he asked me.

"What? Why would we split up?" I asked him and he laughed.

"Because I'll shoot at them and you can run the opposite way. They will come after me, ok?" he said and I nodded my head. I ran the opposite direction away from my friends. Well at least I thought I was running away from my friends. I stood in the middle of a circle of trees. Then I was shot to the ground by blue and green paint balls. This will hurt me so much tomorrow and possibly tonight. Since I was knocked down, they left to find Max. Within a few minutes Thalia, Nico and Max were defeated. They all gathered around me and then Max pulled me up.

"Paintball isn't your sport." he said then took off my mask and gave me a kiss.

"Why do you find this fun?" I asked all of them.

"Because you're such an easy target that its amusing taking you down." Annabeth said.

"I knew we would win." Percy said to Annabeth then gave her a kiss.

"I knew we would too." Annabeth said.

"We came in a close second." Thalia said. Then she shot Nico in the balls.

"What the fuck was that for Thalia?" Nico said doubled over grabbing his crotch.

"Because we could have won!" Thalia said. We all changed out of our gear and I already noticed some bruises on my pale skin. After we got changed we all went and got pizza.

"Carter I think you should stick to being a princess because you sure fight like one." Percy said.

"I would whoop all of your asses at archery." I said.

"Nope I would kick your ass in that sport too." Thalia said.

"Well I bet I have the cleanest apartment." I said jokingly.

"You win." they all said and I laughed.

**This one was a short chapter but it was my friends I'm-too-outrageous-4u's idea. Thanks everyone and please review :)**


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